School-Age Children
Overview
A high-quality education is essential to put young people on a path to economic success. It ignites curiosity and helps students discover their passions and talents, while ensuring that they master the academic, social-emotional, and career-relevant knowledge and skills to be prepared for success. Yet, our schools produce unequal outcomes for students living in poverty, especially in communities of color. Robin Hood’s School-Age Children program partners with organizations, schools, and government to create higher-quality learning experiences for all students, with the ultimate goal of increasing the percentage of low-income students who graduate from high school ready for college and careers.
In 2025, Robin Hood-funded K-12 programs reached 195,000 students and educators through charter schools, tutoring, academic support, and college preparation — while 8,900 teachers and school leaders received training, professional development, and coaching. Students in Robin Hood–supported charter schools outpaced city averages by nearly 20 points in English and more than 20 points in math.
By the Numbers
906,248
students in the NYC school system, the largest school district in the United States
80
%
Of NYC public schools students qualify for free and reduced lunch, and 1 in 8 experienced homelessness
50
%
Only half of 3rd and 8th graders attending NYC public schools are proficient in reading and math
Grantee Spotlight
ExpandED Schools President & CEO Saskia Traill
ExpandED Schools, Robin Hood Grantee
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City students fell behind as much as one academic year due to pandemic-related learning disruption. High-impact tutoring goes beyond conventional tutoring by addressing the holistic learning needs of students through 1:1 to 1:4 tutoring sessions, providing personalized guidance and support to help students catch up on missed learning opportunities and excel in various subjects.
ExpandED Schools is dedicated to ensuring that all young people in NYC have access to enriching after-school and out-of-school programs that affirm their identities, teach them valuable skills, and spark new opportunities. The organization provides K-12 after-school programs with curricula and support, trains educators, and advances the sector through policy and research. Since its founding in 1998, ExpandED has served more than a million students, tens of thousands of educators and hundreds of schools and their community-based partners.
Robin Hood works with ExpandED Schools to bring high impact tutoring programs to more students through a public-private partnership with NYC Public Schools. Together, we are combating learning loss and supporting students, teachers, and school leaders through high-impact tutoring, a supplemental resource with a proven track record of success.
Learn more about ExpandED Schools | Learn more about our grantees
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Our Strategy
We fund and support our grantee organizations and partners to:
- Accelerate learning: We power interventions that fundamentally improve student experiences and address long-standing inequities in our education system.
- Support educators: We fund efforts to attract and retain well-prepared, well-supported, diverse educators and school leadership.
- Redesign schools: We support community partnerships that provide wrap-around health and social services and extended learning opportunities to improve student success and wellness.
- Build pathways to success: We help forge connections between classroom learning and real-world skills application to better prepare students for college and careers.
