The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is donating $51 million to the City of New York to create small, academically rigorous high-schools to help students prepare for successful careers.

“Nearly one of three eighth graders in America today will not graduate from high school,” said Bill Gates. “New York City is demonstrating how we can bring our schools into the 21st century to make sure that all students, not just a select few, are prepared for college and the workplace. Our country’s civic, social and economic future depends on our ability to do this on a national scale.”

To date, the foundation has invested $590 million to support 1,600 schools nationwide, the majority of which are high schools.