I recently had a fascinating exchange with a smart journalist. He wrote, "I'm looking into the major donors from across the country who tried to influence school board races. Critics have questioned the[ir] motives...To what extent are they sincere in advancing reforms they believe in?" I was str... Read Full Post >
Given my interest in edu-philanthropy and education advocacy, I'm predictably taken by Alexander Russo's behind-the-scenes tale "The Successful Failure of ED in '08." Examining an effort that is generally recalled as a major Gates-Broad partnership that flopped, Russo argues that the whole exercise... Read Full Post >
A number of years ago, in my 2005 book With the Best of Intentions: How Philanthropy is Reshaping K-12 Education, I pointed out that media coverage of education foundations tended to be wide-eyed and sycophantic. At that time, I analyzed the coverage of the five leading edu-foundations by the New Y... Read Full Post >
I recently wrote a piece for Phi Delta Kappan exploring a couple of the key developments in edu-giving since 2005. That's the year I published With the Best of Intentions: How Philanthropy is Reshaping K-12 Education, in which I (in my usual mean-spirited fashion) used the dismal experience of the ... Read Full Post >
There's been a surge in attention paid to edu-philanthropy of late, especially with Sam Dillon's piece in the New York Times in May and Bill Gates' WSJ interview this summer. The condemnations of "corporate philanthropy" and of philanthropists giving away tens of millions as "MBAs run amok" fly h... Read Full Post >
I was disappointed by the page one New York Times story on the Gates Foundation that my friend, NYT reporter Sam Dillon, penned last Sunday. The much-discussed, rather critical account on the Gates Foundation's role in K-12 schooling, is something I would've expected to like, but I found the treatm... Read Full Post >
Whoops. The only condition Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg attached to his $100 million gift to Newark Public Schools was that Governor Chris Christie give control of the schools to Newark Mayor Cory Booker. And now it appears Christie lacks the statutory authority to do so. Times being w... Read Full Post >
The Washington Post's Nick Anderson offers a terrific and balanced round up on where the Gates Foundation's K-12 giving stands today. In an article that avoids being either a puff piece or a hatchet job, Anderson offers a good, straightforward analysis of what the foundation is up to. He comes at ... Read Full Post >
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