Westly Donates $100,000 to Green Dot Schools

LOS ANGELES) — June 30, 2008 - Green Dot Public Schools, the leading public school operator in Los Angeles that is dedicated to changing public education so that all children receive the education they need to reach their dreams, was strengthened today when Steve Westly, Founder and Chairman, announced his foundation is donating $100,000 in support of Green Dot’s mission to transform Locke High School into eight, small, autonomous high performing schools. The announcement was made today at Green Dot’s offices in downtown Los Angeles by Westly and Green Dot CEO, Steve Barr.

Green Dot’s overarching plan is directly focused on influencing the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to transform its failing high schools into clusters of small, successful schools and helping the district reinvent itself as one of the best school districts in the country. With the Locke High School Transformation Plan, educators and parents are empowered to take a much greater role in transforming and bettering the quality of high school education in Los Angeles. Through its gift to Green Dot, the Westly Foundation is helping to create positive societal change at the local level.

“I’ve admired the work of Green Dot for many years, and believe that they represent a vision that can truly affect education reform on a wide scale. It’s my pleasure to make a contribution on behalf of Los Angeles’ children who deserve a safe, high-quality education and a bright future,” said Steve Westly.

Westly Foundation, founded in 2000 by Westly and his wife Anita, seeks to change the trajectory of kids on the margin in California. This year Westly Foundation will strategically grant $1 million in the areas of health, education and immigration.

“Los Angeles can be the impetus for real education reform nationwide. It is my hope that Steve Westly’s gift will be a catalyst for other elected officials and business leaders to invest in the future of our young people’s education. There is no reason why every child living in Los Angeles shouldn’t be afforded the best education in this country,” said Green Dot Founder, Steve Barr.

Green Dot operates twelve schools in some of the highest-need areas of Los Angeles, demonstrating that public schools can do a far better job of educating students if they are operated more effectively. The success of Green Dot relies on their core model, the “Six Tenets of High-Performing Schools” that call for schools to: 1) be safer and no larger than 500 students each; 2) implement a college preparatory curriculum for all students; 3) empower principals, teachers, parents and students to own all key decisions related to budgets, curriculum and hiring; 4) add more dollars to classrooms and significantly increase teacher pay; 5) value and support parent participation; 6) stay open later for community use.

Green Dot Public Schools is headquartered in Los Angeles. Westly Foundation is based in Silicon Valley.

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About Steve Westly

Steve Westly is CEO of The Westly Group, a venture advisory firm which helps entrepreneurs build the clean technology companies of the future. Before launching his firm, Mr. Westly was California State Controller and the chief financial officer of the world’s sixth largest economy. As Controller, Westly spearheaded innovative tax programs to help close the State’s budget deficit and led the effort to commit more than $1 billion to clean technology investments.

About Green Dot Public Schools

Green Dot Public Schools is the leading public school operator in Los Angeles and is dedicated to changing public education in Los Angeles so that all children receive the educations they need to reach their dreams. It currently operates twelve public charter high schools in Los Angeles’ highest-need communities. Each Green Dot school (branded “Ánimo” schools) vastly outperforms comparable traditional public high schools. For more information visit: www.greendot.org