Houston A+ Challenge
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Houston A+ Challenge, now Texas A+ Challenge, is a not-for-profit public-private partnership based in Houston, Texas.
The organization's mission is to serve "as a catalyst for change in the public schools that educate nine of every ten children in the Houston region, teaming with principals and teachers in targeted schools to ensure that every student is prepared for post-secondary success."
On September 9, 2022, Houston A+ Challenge merged with CHILDREN AT RISK and has been renamed Texas A+ Challenge.[1]
Texas A+ Challenge began in January 1997 with the receipt of a five-year, $20 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation's "Challenge to the Nation to Reform Public Schools." Local funds were raised to match the Annenberg grant one-for-two, resulting in a total of $60 million available over five years. After the initial Annenberg grant expired in December 2002, the Annenberg Foundation awarded another $20 million to Texas A+ and the Brown Foundation gave an additional $10 million to continue the work for five more years. Coupled with $12 million from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as a long list of other donors, Texas A+ has raised more than $100 million, in total. In 2005, the Charity Navigator awarded Texas A+ Challenge a 4 star overall rating and they have continually received exceptional ratings for organizational efficiency.