Gates Foundation survey: How 40,000 teachers would fix America's schools

Public-school teachers are more interested in principals who support them than in higher pay and in digital media over textbooks, according to a national survey of about 40,000 instructors co-sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation, which has made education improvements a cornerstone of its agenda, teamed up with textbook publisher Scholastic for the phone and online poll conducted last spring.

Full text article by Linda Shaw is available via The Seattle Times, 3/2/10.

At State U. of Haiti, Officials Count Their Losses and Mourn Their Dead

As rescue workers struggle to provide food and medical care to survivors of Haiti's devastating earthquake last week, administrators at the State University of Haiti are mourning their dead while working to assess the damage to the country's main institution of higher education.

Full text article by Marion Lloyd is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/22/10.

Ivy Leaguers’ Class for Poor Becomes ‘Platinum’ Charter Schools

Starting 17 years ago as an experiment that lifted 50 Houston fifth-graders’ academic performance through expanded school hours, the nonprofit Knowledge Is Power Program has grown into the country’s biggest charter-school provider. KIPP, as it is known, now operates 82 schools in 19 states, primarily serving poor and minority students. The program has been cited by the Obama administration as a model for education improvement and won strong financial support from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which has been financing school-overhaul efforts.
Full text article by Molly Peterson is available via Bloomberg, 1/20/10.

$250 million initiative for science, math teachers planned

President Obama on Wednesday announced a $250-million effort paid for in large part by the technology giant Intel to improve science and math instruction nationwide. The Santa Clara, Calif., computer-chip maker and its foundation are committing $200-million in cash and in-kind support over 10 years to expand teacher-training and other programs for instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. The new project effectively doubles the size of the philanthropic campaign for STEM education the president began in November.

Full text article by Nick Anderson is available via The Washington Post, 1/6/10.

Does Service Learning Really Help?

College courses that incorporate volunteerism are now part of the curriculum at most colleges and universities. The article cites the positive and negative experiences of several community groups in college towns. Well-coordinated programs can provide needed aid for nonprofit organizations, but supervising the volunteers can be a financial and administrative burden for smaller charities.

Full text article by Stephanie Strom is available via The New York Times, 12/29/09.

Pioneering L.A. nonprofit is saving lives in Afghanistan

The International Medical Corps’ longstanding relief work in Afghanistan and other war zones is the subject of an article in the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles organization, founded in 1984 to shore up an Afghan health-care system devastated by the Soviet invasion, has forged deep ties in Afghan communities, winning protection from village councils and facing relatively little threat from the Taliban. It has sought to help Afghans build their own abilities to provide health services by hiring native-born doctors, midwives, pharmacists, and other medical experts to operate its clinics.

Full text article by Alexandra Zavis is available via the Los Angeles Times, 1/5/10.

A Test of Leadership

When the history of American higher education in the 21st century is written, I suspect the end of the first decade will be known for two resounding themes: the growing importance of community colleges, and a move from college access to a focus on college success. The vocabulary of this important time centers on words like efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness. These are terms that, thanks in no small part to the work of foundations like Lumina and Gates, finally have traction among both administrators and consumers of higher ed. In a very real sense, this is nothing less than astounding progress for an institution built primarily to enroll students privileged enough to attend college -- and not necessarily to graduate them.
Full text article by Sara Goldrick-Rab is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/28/09.

Gauging the Dedication of Teacher Corps Grads

People who participate in Teach for America, the fast-growing program that sends new college graduates into schools with large numbers of needy students, do not necessarily get involved in other areas of civic life, such as voting and charitable giving, as they grow older. According to a study conducted by Stanford University sociologists at the suggestion of Wendy Kopp, Teach for America’s founder, graduates of the nonprofit teacher corps vote, give, and participate in other civic activities at lower rates than those who were accepted into Teach for America but either declined or dropped out before finishing the two-year term.

Full text article by Amanda M. Fairbansk is available via The New York Times, 1/3/10.

A lesson in philanthropy: Anonymous donors give $12 million to a small Jewish day school

An anonymous group of donors has given $12.25-million to a small Jewish high school in Waltham, Mass., to pay off the lingering debt from a 2003 construction loan. The contribution to the 315-student Gann Academy is the first significant gift to a Jewish group in the Boston area since the twin blows of the recession and the Bernard Madoff fraud hit last year, the newspaper notes.

Full text article by Michael Paulson is available via The Boston Globe, 12/4/09.

Cargill charitable giving tops $58 million in FY2009

Minneapolis-based Cargill has announced grants of more than $58 million to organizations around the world working to promote nutrition, health, education, and environmental stewardship. In response to the global financial crisis, the company donated $5.5 million for emergency hunger relief in ten countries through organizations such as Feeding America, the Salvation Army, and the Global Foodbanking Network. In addition, the company, as part of a five-year, $10 million commitment, awarded $2 million to the humanitarian organization CARE, which works to alleviate poverty in the developing world. And to help foster science, technology, engineering and math learning in Minneapolis schools, the company invested more than $3 million in two programs. "We recognize our continued success depends on the growth and health of our communities and partners," said Cargill chairman and CEO Greg Page. "We are committed to investing in communities where we live and work to promote vibrant, stable communities and growth that improves living standards."

Full text press release available via Cargill, Inc., 10/28/09.

Online College Access Comes at a High Price for Students, Survey Says

Online programs are expanding access to education, but a survey reveals new details about the cost of that access, suggesting that students enrolled in online programs may pay higher fees than their on-campus counterparts. The report found that, at nearly half of the 182 institutions surveyed, tuition for online students is often higher than for on-campus students. Students in some online programs may face bills that are 10 percent or more than those in parallel face-to-face programs.



Full-text post by Marc Parry is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/22/09.

Gates charity funds go out as loans, too

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is increasingly making loans, loan guarantees, and equity investments as ways to stretch its philanthropic dollars, The Seattle Times reports. The so-called program-related investments include $20-million to a German company to expand banking services in Africa, an $8-million equity fund to invest in health-care ventures, and loan guarantees backing U.S. education.

Full-text post by Kristi Heim is available via The Seattle Times, 9/20/09.

Bill Gates Prods Washington on Foreign Aid, Education

Philanthropist Bill Gates urged lawmakers and the coming Obama administration to maintain U.S. investments in foreign-aid and education initiatives despite the financial crisis.

Full-text article by Robert A. Guth is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.4.08.