Bridging the divide for first-generation learners in Andhra Pradesh

Bridge International Academies is proving that its methods yield results

Sometimes hitting the bottom of the charts can work to your advantage.  In 2009, when India appeared fourth from the bottom of a list of school learning outcomes — after Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria — it caught the attention of the founders of Bridge International Academies. 

India lagged behind what was expected of a country of its stage of development and dimension. It was close to the worst performers in learning levels and outcomes. Co-founders Jay Kimmelman and Shannon May began to look at India closely to see why public education systems were failing children.

While working on her PhD in