Former hedge fund manager James Simons and his wife Marilyn will donate up to $15 million to the East Harlem Tutorial Program, a community-based program of after-school college prep activities and public charter schools, the program announced.
The gift is one of the largest ever given to New York City public schools, according to program organizers.
The Simons will match public and private donations to the tutorial program up to $15 million. They previously donated $150 million to Stony Brook University, part of the New York state university system. It was one of the largest gifts ever made to a public college or university in the United States.
The money for the East Harlem program will support a $45 million fund-raising campaign for a kindergarten-to-12th grade classroom facility. The money also will be used to increase enrollment in after-school programs and to fund scholarships for students completing their higher education degrees.
The East Harlem Tutorial Program is designed to increase college graduations rates in East Harlem, which has traditionally fallen behind graduation rates in the rest of New York City.
Marilyn Simons is president of the Simons Foundation and a board member of the East Harlem Tutorial Program. James Simons is a former hedge fund manager, mathematician and founder of Math for America.