The Pittsburgh Promise

Contact: Saleem Ghubril, +1 412.281.7605

The Pittsburgh Promise is a big idea that has the chance to change the fortunes of the City of Pittsburgh, the public school system, and the lives of Pittsburgh's students.

The Pittsburgh Promise is a visionary scholarship program that makes an audacious pledge to Pittsburgh's young people: If you live in the city and graduate from the Pittsburgh Public Schools, money will not be a barrier to higher education. Created by a coalition of community leaders, supported by the Pittsburgh Public Schools, and funded through the generosity of UPMC, foundations, corporations, and the community, The Pittsburgh Promise dramatically transforms the lives of students and families by making a vow to help students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools pay for education beyond high school by offering up to a $40,000 scholarship to any post-secondary institution within Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh Promise serves to inspire and motivate Pittsburgh Public Schools students to "Dream Big" and "Work Hard" in order to improve the prospects for their future. The program developed when a group of forward-looking thinkers in the community came together to address a challenge: How to preserve the strengths of our city at the core of our region, and how to preserve the school district that is essential to the survival of the city. A key strategy of The Promise is a scholarship program to help students graduating from the Pittsburgh Public Schools to pursue further education after high school, and to enhance the growth, stability, and economic development of the Pittsburgh region.

The Pittsburgh Promise's Purpose is to:

• Provide college scholarships to Pittsburgh's students, and see them through to graduation,
• Promote the reform of Pittsburgh Public Schools, and see them through to excellence, and
• Leverage the development of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, and see them through to prosperity

The Pittsburgh Promise's Goals are to:

• Mitigate and reverse the population declines in the City of Pittsburgh and the enrollment declines in Pittsburgh Public Schools,
• Grow the high school completion rates, college readiness, and post high school success of all students in Pittsburgh Public Schools, and
• Deploy a well-prepared and energized work force and an eager core of community volunteers

It is the hope and commitment of The Pittsburgh Promise that, as a result of this effort, our region will flourish, our city will grow, our public schools will be made excellent, and our young people will move into a future that is full of promise.