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 24,500 scholarships from a pool of 175,000 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 from our 170 diverse 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%. In addition, over 80% of CSFP high school alumni report participating in some type of extra-curricular activity. High levels of school engagement are associated with higher rates of school attendance and high school graduation. A more engaged and academically prepared student results in positive outcomes for the entire community; in fact, a 2013 report on a scholarship program similar to CSFP’s estimated that each high school graduate in the District of Columbia earned society an additional $87,000 in tax income, in addition to being less likely to be incarcerated. 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 over a decade 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%. 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.