As part of the Arby’s Foundation’s commitment to helping kids pursue their dreams with confidence, the Foundation has committed $2 million to support 3DE schools, which makes high-quality education accessible to all students.

“Quality education leads to economic opportunity and the Arby’s Foundation is helping to provide that for thousands of students every year.” Callie Majors, SVP of Strategic Partnership and Brand Development for 3DE

The 3DE structure launches as a school-within-a-school concept. The organization partners with local school districts to challenge high school students in relevant “case challenges” that revolve around high-growth industries and businesses. The case challenges are integrated within English, science, math and history courses, which means students are learning the context of these academic concepts through the lens of a business scenario. Then, as seniors, the students are provided opportunities including semester-long internships, where they work with partner organizations to gain experience in the workplace.

“As a founding national partner, the Arby’s Foundation has been instrumental in helping us develop these case challenges,” Callie said. “Year after year, the level of employee engagement and strategic thought partnership has been extremely beneficial to us. In 2019 alone, the Arby’s Foundation has worked with nearly 2,000 ninth-grade students on an Arby’s case challenge.”

The first school to adopt 3DE’s unique program had its first graduating class in 2019. The class had a 92 percent graduation rate, representing a 47 percent increase from its 2015 graduation rate. Based on this success, the Arby’s Foundation is confident in the 3DE structure and remains a catalyst in the organization’s next stage of growth.

Thirteen 3DE schools currently reside in Georgia and Florida, but 3DE aspires to expand with 42 additional schools over the next six years across the United States.