The Transformation has already donated over $40 million to the dream of providing a better future to Ohio's students, with support from our Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ohio and U.S. Departments of Education, and the Ford Foundation, in addition to local community-based foundations.

The Transformation was designed to respond to a lack of engagement, low achievement, and low graduation rates in our state's urban high schools. The statistics reveal the problem: Only 7 in 10 Ohio high school students graduate; only 5 in 10 enroll in college or other postsecondary institutions; and less than 3 in 10 complete a bachelor's degree within 10 years.

As of 2007 KnowledgeWorks Foundation supports 44 small high schools on what were once 15 large, low-performing urban campuses. These smaller schools help struggling students by raising graduation and achievement rates, according to more than 30 years of research. Small schools in other states have successfully improved student performance, reduced violence, and increased student graduation rates.

KnowledgeWorks Foundation believes that champions of change for school reform exist in every area of society-from policy makers to business leaders to communities. Find out how you can Become a Champion of Change for Ohio's high schools.

Imagine walking into an inner city high school classroom and watching every student's hand fly up when you ask the question, "Are you planning on attending college?"

Our Foundation imagined just this, and in 2004 our dream came true when 58 new small high schools opened as part of the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative. The Transformation is turning Ohio's large, struggling, urban high schools into smaller, successful high schools where students receive personal attention, and study academically relevant and rigorous material that inspires them to achieve.