CSFP's primary goal is to improve educational and social outcomes for Philadelphia children from low-income families by providing access to safe, quality K-8th grade schools. We firmly believe in the power of quality elementary education to transform lives, and our program proves this success. In 2016, we reached a huge goal by fulfilling our Campaign for 10,000 Children objective to expand our strong scholarship program by offering 2,000 new scholarships/year to children new to our program. The Campaign was a dramatic scaling of our program. We aim to continue the momentum of this Campaign, and continue to offer 2,000 scholarships per year moving forward.

In order to guarantee a fair chance for all Philadelphia children from low-income families to afford a quality K-8th grade education, CSFP distributes needs-based scholarships by random lottery. To ensure this goal, our only program eligibility requirements are that families live within Philadelphia city limits and meet designated low-income guidelines. CSFP also provides supplemental programs based on recipient feedback, which provide CSFP families and children with additional support specific to their needs.

As the largest provider of K-8th grade scholarships in Pennsylvania, CSFP has provided over 22,500 scholarships from a pool of 165,000 applications since 1999. Our random lottery ensures a broad base of scholarship recipients, and we allow the parents of children who receive CSFP scholarships to choose their child(ren)'s schools. This create a diverse base of 170 area partner schools. In terms of our reach and mission, CSFP remains a stand-alone scholarship organization.

CSFP scholarships work: our diverse student body of K-8th grade students consistently outperforms their peers in our long-term program evaluations. While Philadelphia public high schools' graduation rate is about 67%, CSFP alumni, after leaving our program in 8th grade, graduate high school prepared, and on time, at rates exceeding 96%. Further, 80% of CSFP alumni attend college or a vocational school within one year following graduation. Our long-term program evaluation has clearly established the positive and long-term impact that a quality early education provides.

CSFP has tracked our students for eleven years to learn about the experiences of our scholarship students and measure performance outcomes of those students. In addition to consistently outperforming their peers in our longitudinal evaluations, and achieving at or above grade level in math and reading on standardized tests, our most recent program evaluation demonstrates that CSFP students maintain an attendance rate exceeding 96%. CSFP alumni translate this firm educational foundation into later success, graduating high school prepared and on time, at rates exceeding 96%, and going on to attend college and post-secondary education within one year following graduation at an 80% rate. Results like these clearly demonstrate the positive impact CSFP scholarships have on the lives of Philadelphia children. CSFP and is currently working on our next program evaluation study, and we expect similar, outstanding results from our students and alumni.