Bridgepoint Education Provides School Supplies for San Diego Unified School District Students in Need

As part of its continuing efforts to support children and education in its hometown, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE: BPI) has underwritten efforts to provide backpacks full of essential school supplies to children in need in the San Diego Unified School District.

Bridgepoint Education sponsored the San Diego Unified School District’s “Tools for School” assistance program in correlation with the kickoff of the 2011-12 school year. Bridgepoint’s gift of $10,000 helped the district guarantee that students in the district, whose families were unable to provide school necessities, had what they needed to start the school year. Distribution of the fully equipped backpacks took place on September 8 and 9.

“It’s an honor to provide support for this pivotal time in a child’s life,” said Jane McAuliffe, Bridgepoint Education’s executive vice president and chief academic officer. “Everyone remembers how dramatic the first days of the school year can be. Bridgepoint Education is happy to help guarantee that kids in San Diego can start class with one less thing to worry about.”

The Tools for School program, introduced this year with Bridgepoint’s support, provided 600 full backpacks for children in the San Diego Unified School District. Recipients of the first-day kits came from all levels of elementary, middle and high school. Assisted by school principals and counselors, backpacks were outfitted specifically for different levels of schooling.

The program is a product of the San Diego Unified School District’s Office of Children and Youth in Transition, developed to directly address the requirements of homeless students living in San Diego. Bridgepoint Education’s postsecondary education services focus on offering associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in such disciplines as business, education, psychology, social sciences and health sciences. Bridgepoint Education’s regionally accredited academic institutions – Ashford University and University of the Rockies – deliver their programs online as well as at traditional campuses located in Clinton, Iowa, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.