Helping to inspire young minds, open new doors, and pave the way to promising futures are long-standing goals for the Applied Materials Foundation. Established in 1995, the Applied Materials Foundation continues to positively impact communities where leading semiconductor manufacturer Applied Materials, Inc. does business, including Central Texas. In 2022, through community grants, the Applied Materials Foundation donated more than $1 million to 60 local nonprofits and schools in the areas of education, civic engagement, the environment, arts and culture, and girls’ empowerment.

As a recipient of the Foundation’s generosity, E3 Alliance has received more than $400,000 in educational grants to advance our regional efforts during the past 10 years. The Foundation’s commitment to E3 Alliance is long-standing and supports our collective work to create systemic change in Central Texas education.

In 2015, the Applied Materials Foundation became one of the early funders of RAISEup Texas, our initiative to increase student achievement in middle schools through teacher instructional development and student engagement efforts. RAISEup schools experienced double-digit gains in state standardized test passing rates in just the first year of implementation.

“Change is possible when we commit as a region to working together to create systems that support and prioritize student success,” said Michele Walker-Moak of the Applied Materials Foundation. “By sharing best practices and measuring progress, E3 Alliance works with public schools to build a brighter future for Central Texas students. The Applied Materials Foundation is proud to support E3’s collaborative approach to improve outcomes for all students.”

In 2018, E3 Alliance received a three-year challenge grant from StriveTogether to specifically address the education equity gaps in Central Texas. In response to this challenge, we created the Regional Education Achievement Challenge (REACH) to seek additional support from other funders to create a widespread, population-level impact. The Applied Materials Foundation once again stepped up to help support this effort.

REACH experienced significant success:

• We distributed over 11,000 Pre-K Parent Guides to 14 partner school districts in the region.
• Data from our Kindergarten Readiness Study helped inform Texas legislators and arm advocate organizations, such as Early Matters Greater Austin. As a result, the historic HB 3 measure to fund full-day, pre-K for all eligible students in the state of Texas passed into law.
• As part of our middle school math work, 12 of 15 partner school districts adopted (or are currently adopting) policy and practice changes based on E3 math pathways data to close equity gaps and improve student outcomes
• The My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Scholars program, an initiative aimed at supporting Black and Hispanic male students from low-income households to graduate from high school and enroll in college, started in the fall of 2018 with four Central Texas high schools. Today, with E3’s support, MBK Scholars has twice the number of participating juniors and seniors, and 87% of the participating students are on track to graduate on time from high school (based on the measure of average credits earned).

Most recently in 2023 the Applied Materials Foundation awarded E3 Alliance a grant to support the Math Peer Learning Network (Math PLN) in Manor ISD and other Central Texas school districts to ensure students are on the math pathway most aligned to their career aspirations and to increase equitable math access, success strategies, and outcomes.

E3 has made considerable progress due to the early and continuing financial support of organizations like the Applied Materials Foundation, as well as the advocacy of community leaders like Michele Walker-Moak who value the collective impact and the education backbone work of E3 Alliance.

“Change is possible when we commit as a region to working together to create systems that support and prioritize student success,” said Michele Walker-Moak of the Applied Materials Foundation. “By sharing best practices and measuring progress, E3 Alliance works with public schools to build a brighter future for Central Texas students. The Applied Materials Foundation is proud to support E3’s collaborative approach to improve outcomes for all students.”

Thank you to the Applied Materials Foundation for your generosity and commitment to Central Texas students. We know that alone we do good, but together we do greater good.