Case 15.1 SEED Foundation

Founded in 1997 in Washington, DC, by social entrepreneurs Rajiv Vinnakota and Eric Adler, the SEED Foundation operates urban, college-preparatory, public boarding schools in Washington, DC; Maryland; and Miamiand has plans for further expansion to additional cities. SEED schools serve young people from low-income backgrounds, providing them with a rigorous academic program delivered in a 24-hour nurturing environment. SEED's program is comprehensive, including life skills, health and medical, and social components. As of 2018, 90 percent of SEED students graduated from high school, 90 percent enrolled in college, and 70 percent earned a college degree within six years (SEED Foundation, 2018). SEED has gained national attention. In 2009, President Barack Obama visited the Washington, DC, SEED school to sign the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. In 2010, SEED was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes and in the documentary film Waiting for Superman, which addressed school reform (SEED Foundation, 2017a).

SEED's funding model is a mix of private and government funds. The costs of developing a school's facilities and its start-up costs are provided by philanthropists. Once opened, the school's operating costs are mostly covered by public funds. But the patterns and mechanisms of public funding vary depending on the environment in each state. In opening the Washington, DC, school in 1998, SEED lobbied the U.S. Congress and the District of Columbia City Council to amend the education budget to fund a boarding school and then obtained a charter from the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. Charter schools are public schools, but they are given more autonomy than traditional public schools in exchange for their agreement to produce specific results, as identified in their charters. Charter schools receive payment on a per-pupil basis, generally equivalent to the per-pupil expenditure for traditional public schools (Pham, 2015). The Washington SEED school receives operating funds equivalent to the funds given to other charter schools, but special legislation was needed in order to add extra payments to cover the boarding component (Bruce, 2010).

SEED's approach in Maryland was somewhat different than it was in Washington, DC. Rather than operating as a charter school, SEED's Maryland program is funded under an act of the Maryland legislature, passed and signed by the governor in 2006 (Maryland State Department of Education, 2019). Students come from all parts of the state of Maryland. SEED receives about $10 million each year from Maryland, which pays for transportation, boarding, and administration. In addition, the school receives funding from the local school districts from which its students have their permanent home and from private donors (Zaleski, 2015).

In 2012, SEED obtained approval for a charter school from the Miami-Dade public school board in Florida. The SEED School of Miami opened in 2014 on the campus of Florida Memorial University with 60 sixth graders (SEED Foundation, 2017a). The funding model was complex. First, it required a change in state law to allow public funding of boarding schools. Now that it is operating, the school receives an allocation on a per-student basis from Miami-Dade schools, under a charter contract between the school district and SEED. The Florida Department of Education adds to the funds provided by the local school district, under a separate contract it holds with SEED (Smiley, 2014).

In 2015, the founders of SEED, Rajiv Vinnakota and Eric Adler, left their positions as staff leaders. Lesley Poole, a longtime member of the executive staff, was appointed as CEO (SEED Foundation, 2017a). The SEED Foundation continues to explore possible opportunities for additional schools (SEED Foundation, 2017b).

Do the SEED schools meet the definition of a public-private partnership? Why or why not?