The Pittsburgh Promise

~ Send all eligible urban youth to college or trade school with a scholarship.

~ Promote the reform of urban schools so that young people are prepared for successful and meaningful lives.

~ Invest in our region's workforce by preparing the next generation of workers to meet the demands and opportunities of our economy.

~ Raise $265 million in order to fulfill our promise for generations to come.

The Pittsburgh Promise's staff, board, and volunteers are regularly connecting the organization to potential donors, are giving to our overall fundraising goal themselves, and are communicating the accomplishments of our students to our community thus indicating the value of The Promise to our businesses and the neighborhoods in which we all live, work and/or play.

Promise staff, teachers, and trained high school leaders called Student Ambassadors are in the Pittsburgh Public Schools daily talking about The Promise and helping students to become "Promise Ready." The culture of the Pittsburgh Public Schools has changed since The Promise's inception to focus on better attendance in the schools (K-12) and achieving at least a 2.5 grade point average. For students on the cusp of these requirements, additional programs have been put into place to guide them academically and socially so they might be able to set higher standards for themselves and achieve them.

We are in daily contact with employers and potential employers who need trained and educated employees to fill their workforce needs now and in the future. The information we absorb is shared with the school leadership, and partnerships have been put into place to bolster the credentials of students in Career and Technical Education before they graduate from high school making them far more work-ready than their counterparts from other schools. Because Pittsburgh Public School graduates may go to any accredited school in Pennsylvania, they have endless career opportunities.

A highly experienced staff which is dedicated to the mission of The Pittsburgh Promise represents The Promise in all sectors of our city on a daily basis. In addition, we are blessed with a plethora of volunteers who raise money and awareness for our mission and the benefits that it provides to Western Pennsylvania. Teachers, administrators, parents and guardians within the Pittsburgh Public Schools also are great supporters of The Promise and utilize The Promise as a motivator for our young people. Promise Coaches will be embedded in our high schools starting in Fall 2020 to give special attention to the college preparatory process, and will guide struggling students toward eligibility for Promise Scholarships. This multi-faceted team of people works hard to promote The Promise and demonstrate its value.

Pittsburgh Public School graduation rates have increased from 63% in 2007 to 79% in 2018. We want this rate to continue to increase.

The gap between the high school graduation rate of Caucasian and African American students was reduced from a high of 15 percentage points in 2011, to eight percentage points in 2018.

PPS students who are enrolled in post-secondary education during the first two years after high school has increased from 57% in 2005 to 63% in 2017. We want this rate to continue to increase.

As of January 2019, 3,467 Promise scholars have received their degree or workforce certification.

Promise scholars complete Bachelors degrees at rates comparable to, or better than, national rates.