Ken Griffin Is Bringing University of Chicago Math Tutoring to Miami

Anna J Kaiser, Bloomberg News

Ken Griffin Photographer: Zak Bennett/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ken Griffin is donating $9 million to bring a University of Chicago-backed math tutoring program to public school students in Miami, leveraging his ties with the top university in his former hometown.

The gift from the billionaire Citadel founder will allow the university’s Education Lab and the nonprofit Accelerate to partner with local educators and implement “high-dosage math tutoring.” The program will start at nine Miami-Dade County public schools for students in grades six to eight.

The three-year partnership aims to help thousands of students who may have fallen behind during the pandemic. The average US public school student in grades three to eight lost at least half a year of math learning, according to researchers from Harvard and Stanford.

“Every child can succeed when they receive support tailored to their unique educational needs, interests and aspirations,” Griffin said in a statement Thursday. “By investing in personalized learning, Miami-Dade County Public Schools can empower students to reach their full potential and prepare them for success in an increasingly complex and dynamic world.”

Nearly two years after Griffin moved his financial conglomerate to Miami, his ties to the University of Chicago still run deep. In 2017, he donated $125 million to the school, where the economics department now bears his name.

Since moving to Miami, he’s been spreading some of his fortune around local education, including $50 million to a University of Miami cancer research center and $20 million to the local community college. Griffin also funded efforts to bring no-cost broadband internet services to Miami area students and tackle teacher shortages.

“On our current trajectory, pandemic-induced learning loss will leave a long-term, life-altering scar for millions of American students,” said Jens Ludwig, Pritzker faculty co-director of the University of Chicago Education Lab. Griffin’s gift will “expand educational opportunity and improve social mobility.”

(Updates with details on the program, quote starting second paragraph)