At the Hyde Family Foundations, our mission when it comes to education is simple: We are about closing the achievement gap. Period. The achievement gap between low-income students and their wealthier counterparts in Tennessee is real. At the heart of our commitment to this issue is the belief that ALL students deserve access to a high-quality education. It’s a basic civil right. In order to improve educational opportunities for all children in Memphis, we focus on three key ingredients: schools, people and advocacy. 

High-performing Schools
High-performing schools prepare students for success in college, life and work. At the Hyde Family Foundations, we support schools for underserved children that have a relentless focus on academic achievement and innovation. We are not wed to any particular model and believe there is more than one pathway to excellence. We do, however, firmly believe that all successful schools have certain shared characteristics, including high expectations for kids and adults, strong leadership, academic rigor, and clear benchmarks for student performance. The academic success of many of our partner schools – including district, charter, independent and faith-based schools – strongly demonstrates that excellence in education can be achieved through multiple delivery systems.

Great People
Every school deserves a great principal. Every child deserves a great teacher. Because the quality of a classroom, a school or an education system cannot exceed the quality of its people, the Foundations invest in proven initiatives that attract, develop and retain the very best talent in the field of education. These initiatives include nationally recognized programs such as New Leaders for New Schools, Teach For America, The New Teacher Project and Building Excellent Schools, which have infused the Memphis public education system with many talented school leaders and teachers. This focus on human capital is a fundamental building block for the success of our educational system.

Effective Advocacy
Schools are the cornerstones of successful city-building, and the children in our classrooms today will determine the future direction of our community. No city will be able to successfully compete in the knowledge-based economy of the future without investing in schools today. That’s why the Hyde Family Foundations engage in community-based efforts to empower citizens as they place education at the top of the civic-priority list.

We also recognize the important role of effective public policy, and advocate for those policies that expand educational options for families, empower strong leadership, enable school-based decision-making, and ensure that our state’s graduation requirements are aligned to college and work force readiness. For example, we supported the work of the Tennessee Diploma Project, whose recommendations became the basis for Tennessee’s strengthened graduation requirements and curriculum realignment.