Remarker: Foundation Bridges Dallas Educational Divide

ReMarker recently profiled the Brewer Foundation’s Future Leaders Program (FLP), a public-private education initiative now serving 15 schools from the Dallas Independent School District.

FLP launched in 2001, after the firm’s community impact affiliate, the Brewer Storefront, identified deep educational inequities throughout South Dallas. In response, Brewer Foundation founder William A. Brewer III partnered with St. Mark’s School of Texas and The Hockaday School to create a unique private-public initiative now known as the Future Leaders Program.

Now expanded to four partner private schools, the program brings more than 200 DISD students to campus each Saturday, where public and private school teachers co-lead a rigorous curriculum blending academic instruction, leadership development, and college preparation. FLP goes well beyond traditional classroom support, strengthening the skills they need to grow and lead others. As Ian Shaw, President of the Brewer Foundation explains in the piece:

“A future leader isn’t just someone who gets A’s in school. Scholastic skills can only go so far. A future leader is someone who can be an advocate for themselves and for others.”

That commitment shapes all aspects of the program, including its funding. Unlike many other student support programs, the FLP is fully sponsored by the Brewer Foundation and offered at no-cost to both the partner schools and the students participating.

The results for students are transformative. Four students from this year’s FLP class earned full-ride scholarships to college, including Emanuel Benitez, who earned a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University, and featured in the article. Emanuel will be the first of his family to leave Dallas.

However, Emanuel does not stand alone. Since 2009, FLP students have received over $20 million in scholarship offers.

To read the full piece, click here.

To learn more about the Future Leaders Program and its impact, click here.

To support the Foundation and its work, click here.