Hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson is donating $8.5 million to help Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter school network open new middle schools in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Hell’s Kitchen, officials announced Thursday.
The gift from John, his wife Jenny and the Paulson Foundation is among the largest received by Success, the city’s largest charter school system with 34 schools serving 11,000 children.
“The best way to reduce poverty long-term is improve the quality of public school education. Success Academy’s proven record in improving the quality of education for our neediest children has been extraordinary,” said Paulson, a Queens native who attended public schools.
“We need to allocate more public and private resources to Success Academy so more deserving children who want to attend Success Academy can do so. There is no better investment we can make than in the education of our children.”
Success schools have consistently ranked in the top 10 percent in the state in math and English.
“Every classroom we visited was filled with enthusiasm,” said Jenny Paulson. “I am so impressed by the teachers and principals — and the scholars. They share a mutual passion for learning and discovery.”
Moskowitz said the donation will allow Success to open more high-caliber charter schools and “close the opportunity gap that has trapped hundreds of thousands of this city’s families in poverty.”
More Paulson philanthropy is in the works.
The family foundation has a balance of $547.6 million, according to its most recent financial report.
Paulson previously donated $100 million to the Central Park Conservancy and $20 million to his alma mater, NYU, according to InsidePhilanthropy.com.
His largesse has also gone to the Robin Hood Foundation, Harlem Children’s Zone, City Harvest, and Lincoln Center.