Eradicating Educational Inequities
With Faith-Based Intervention
The Leadership Institute for Faith and Education is focused on outcomes for America’s most vulnerable students.
By The Numbers
We look at data and factors that affect these students - from how many students receive Free and Reduced Priced Lunches (FRPL) to the impacts that religion has on minority communities and their families to the widespread effects of poverty, not only on education but on many other factors that affect student achievement
350K+
Religious Congregations in America
(Churches, Temples, Mosques)
Did you know...
over
51%
of public school K-12 students in the U.S. are considered to be from low-income backgrounds.
Poor children are
6x more likely
to attend a 'high poverty' public school
Black
45%
White
7%
Percentage of students attending high-poverty schools
Poverty Not Only Affects Education, But Also...
economic opportunity
access to healthcare
housing
transportation
Why L.I.F.E.
The most vulnerable children in America are suffering from academic and emotional outcomes that make navigating their futures very challenging. L.I.F.E. seeks to change that through collaboration with educators, faith-based organization leaders, and community officials.
"There are two rivers [faith-inspired and secular human service organizations] running in parallel, and the separation is not to the benefit of progress."
- ROSANNE HAGGERTY
PRESIDENT AND CEO, COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS
How We Do It
The Leadership Institute for Faith and Education provides a model for developing effective partnerships between faith-based organizations and public schools, to address and elevate student achievement.
Our Founder
Our Director
Irvin Scott, Ed.D.
Irvin Scott joined the faculty of Harvard Graduate School of Education during the summer of 2016. At Harvard, Scott's concentration is educational leadership. In 2017, Scott was tapped to lead a new initiative at Harvard to bring faith and education communities together in what became the Leadership Institute for Faith and Education (LIFE).
"As people of faith in the United States, we experience vast differences in what we believe and how we practice those beliefs; however, I am convinced that what we can agree on is that there are too many children in this country who live in poverty, and one of the ways to right that is through learning, growth and achievement. "
-DR. IRVIN SCOTT
SENIOR LECTURER OF EDUCATION
HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION