'The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation' photo (c) 2012, Nam-ho Park - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Several major foundations, including Gates and Walton, are playing an increasing large role in education policy. I thought that readers might find a short list of related resources useful, and I would appreciate additional suggestions.

You might also be interested in The Best Posts & Articles On Billionaire’s Charter Plan To Split LA’s School District and The Best Articles For Beginning To Understand Zuckerberg’s Announced $45 Billion “Charitable” Gift.

Here are my choices for The Best Resources For Learning About The Role Of Private Foundations In Education Policy:

Got Dough? Public School Reform in the Age of Venture Philanthropy is an important article in Dissent magazine.

Confronting Systemic Inequity in Education: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy is the title of a major new report from the National Committee On Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).

The New York Times ran a series of guest columns titled “Can $100 Million Change Newark’s Schools?” focusing on the recent donation to Newark schools by the founder of Facebook. Richard Rothstein is part of the Times’ series, and his post is titled When Billionaires’ Goals Do Harm. That piece (and several others in the series) is worth a look.

Schools Matter has a short excerpt from a Diane Ravitch interview where she comments on the role of foundations. Chapter Ten of Diane’s book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, provides more extensive details.

I’ve written two pieces for The Huffington Post on this topic:

Private Foundations Have A Place (And Have To Be Kept In Their Place)

Gates Foundation Minimizing Great Tools For Helping Teachers Improve Their Craft

Rethinking Schools has a good article on the funders behind the “Waiting For Superman” movie.

How the Billionaire boys Club is running – and ruining – education is by Ken Bernstein.

Private Foundations, English Language Learners & My Continued Skepticism is another one of my posts.

Gates spends millions to sway public on ed reform is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post

The most dangerous man in America is by Leonie Haimson.

Free-Market Think Tanks and the Marketing of Education Policy is by Kevin Welner and appeared in Dissent.

Education Reform Philanthropy Has Changed Radically Over the Past Decade is by Dana Goldstein.

Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill Gates is the headline of a newspaper article in the New York Times.

Creating Educational Monocultures is by John Thompson.

Shortcuts, School Reform & Private Foundations

Billionaire Education Policy is from The Education Optimists.

What Happens When Teacher Voices Depend on Foundations’ Choices? is by Anthony Cody at Ed Week.

Broad Foundation’splan to expand influence in school reform is from The Washington Post.

On school reform: Broad’s misleading response to critics is by Ken Libby and Stan Karp.

I Wish Everyone Connected To A Private Foundation Would Read This Article, But I Suspect My Wish Will Go Unfulfilled

How school reform became the cause célèbre of billionaires is from The Washington Post.

What Are Foundations For? is by Bob Reich.

‘Strategic Philanthropy’ Shifts Too Much Power to Donors is by Pablo Eisenberg.

Quote Of The Day: “The problem with philanthropy”

Bill Gates: ‘It would be great if our education stuff worked but…’ is from The Washington Post.

Plutocrats at Work: How Big Philanthropy Undermines Democracy is from Dissent.

The influence of new philanthropy on democracy is from The Washington Post.

Teacher ‘Voice’ Amplified by Series of Gates Grants is from Education Week.

Gates Foundation Places Big Bet on Teacher Agenda is from Education Week.

Follow the Money: Gates Giving for Its Teacher Agenda is an infographic from Education Week.

‘Effective Teaching’ Study Seen as Influential, and Faulty is from Education Week.

Video (& Comments): Shanker Institute Conference On Foundations & Education

SXSWEdu: Gates Foundation vs. Microsoft Education: What’s the difference? is from The Hechinger Report.

How to Criticize “Big Philanthropy” Effectively is by Joanne Barkan.

A Walmart Fortune, Spreading Charter Schools is from The New York Times.

What Will It Take to Educate the Gates Foundation? is by Anthony Cody.

Aftermath: My Note to the Gates Foundation is by Rick Hess and John Thompson.

Gates’ $100M Philanthropic Venture inBloom Dies after Parents Say “No Way” is from The Non-Profit Quarterly. Here’s an excerpt:

Nonetheless, finding experienced grantmakers like Gates and Carnegie misreading the interests and desires of the parents and educators who were purportedly the intended beneficiaries is surprising, if not shocking. It’s an unfortunate reflection of the top-down approach of some foundations, issuing prescriptions for the benefit of the public even if that public doesn’t buy in. The inability of many funders to see how counterproductive and unpopular their technocratic solutions are with their intended beneficiaries is a disappointingly pervasive trend in much of big philanthropy

You might also be interested in The Best Posts On The inBloom Data Fiasco.

Mark Zuckerberg has contributed a new bunch of money to schools — this time in California — but who knows if he has learned anything from his Newark debacle (see The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook ). Here are some posts/articles on his recent contribution:

Zuckerberg’s philanthropy proves school solutions aren’t easy is from The San Francisco Chronicle.

Mark Zuckerberg is giving $120 million to Bay Area schools (after his last education reform effort didn’t go so well) is from The Washington Post.

Zuckerberg, Wife Gift $120M to CA Schools is from The Associated Press.

John Thompson offers some wise advice to him.

Zuckerberg schools donation is a gift but at what price? appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle.

How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution is from The Washington Post.

Philanthropic Advocacy for School Reforms is by Larry Cuban.

A Mantra for K-12 Philanthropy: First, Do No Harm is by Rick Hess and appeared in Education Week. It’s a little odd, and a bit internally inconsistent, but I’m still adding it to this list.

Koch Heads: How The Koch Brothers Are Buying Their Way Into The Minds Of Public School Students is from The Huffington Post.

 

 

Bill Gates, who thinks we should all learn math through the Khan Academy (see The Best Posts About The Khan Academy) because he likes it, now has a way in mind he wants us all to learn history. Read about it in this New York Times story, So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class …

Apparently, Gates was watching this history video about history while running on his treadmill, and now has created a course he wants high schools to teach using this methodology. It’s called The Big History Project and, after a quick perusal, I wouldn’t put it on any of my “Best” lists.

You’ll want to read the article, which provides a fair amount of space to valuable criticisms about education philanthropy, including this one:

“I just finished reading William Easterly’s ‘The Tyranny of Experts,’ ” says Scott L. Thomas, dean of the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University in California. “It’s about philanthropists and their effect on the poor globally. It’s this exact idea that here you have this ‘expert’ in the middle” — that is, Gates — “enabling the pursuit of this project. And frankly, in the eyes of the critics, he’s really not an expert. He just happens to be a guy that watched a DVD and thought it was a good idea and had a bunch of money to fund it.”

Here are some other interesting comments:

 

 

 

And here’s another excerpt from the article:

there-are-people-that


“Is Philanthropy Bad for Democracy?”

No Responsibility for Oops! Donors and School Reform is by Larry Cuban.

Pearson Foundation closing (after paying big fines for helping corporate parent) is from The Washington Post.

Another Educated Guess about Philanthropy and School Reform is by Larry Cuban.

An Educated Guess about Donor-Driven School Reform is also by Larry Cuban.

That surprising thing Bill Gates said is from The Washington Post.

Signs of Humility From the Gates Foundation? is by Anthony Cody, who writes about a recent interview of the CEO of the Gates Foundation that was covered by Forbes. Here’s an interesting Twitter exchange about it:

 

Bill Gates Claims Foundation Does R & D Only, Stays Out of “Political Process” is by Anthony Cody.

Boy, Bill Gates’ Latest Interview Was Very Depressing…

Gates Foundation Makes Its Move In California — And It Looks Like Somebody Is Giving Them Good Advice

Following the Money in Education Philanthropy is from American RadioWorks.

Quote Of The Day: Gates Official Says They Game Their Research (No Surprise, But Still Not Good)

Re-Evaluating the Gates MET Study is by John Thompson.

Strings Attached: Why Philadelphia Schools May Reject a $35 Million Gift is from Inside Philanthropy.

Pearson’s philanthropy entwined with business interests is from Politico.

Russo’s Disheartening “Eight Lessons for Funders and Grantees” is by John Thompson.

What are Bill Gates and Warren Buffet talking about? is from The Washington Post.

Sorry, Walmart: Charter Schools Won’t Fix Poverty is from The American Prospect. Quote Of The Day: Bill & Melinda Gates On Their Funding For Education Hunches Gone Wrong: Time for the Gates Foundation to Reconsider Approach to Education is by John Thompson. Next Move? Parsing What Bill and Melinda Said About Education Funding is from Inside Philanthropy. Here’s my tweeted comment about Bill Gates’ article in Ed Surge.:

Benioff takes hands-off approach with donations to S.F. schools is from The San Francisco Chronicle.

All education needs is another rich person who wants to reform education – and we’ve got it. Laurene Powell Jobs announced a $50 million prize to reinvent high schools, which you can read about in The Washington Post and at NPR’s Marketplace. I have little faith that anything good is going to come from it, especially since the project is being led by one of the key people behind the Vergara lawsuit attacking teachers.

For a different take on education philanthropy, read this Washington Post piece: Not Bill Gates: Meet Ted Dintersmith, an education philanthropist with a different agenda.

Inside Philanthropy’s Growing Role in Public Schools is from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Test scores complicate the debate over expanding L.A. charter schools, $490-million plan would put half of LAUSD students in charter schools, and Plan to boost charters splits L.A. Unified board are all from the Los Angeles Times, and are about the awful plan billionaire charter backers have to ruin the L.A. school district.

Florida: Gates Bails Out of Hillsborough County is from Diane Ravitch.

Here’s a nice collection of articles related to philanthropy and education.

Bill Gates’ Big Speech Today On Education

This Scholar Has Been Tracking Ed Reform Funders for Years. What’s She Learned? is from Inside Philanthropy.

Bill Gates: Too Many Schools Use Teacher Evaluation For Personnel Decisions, Not As Tool For Improvement is from iSchoolGuide.


Maybe Gates effort missed the real way to reform education: help the poor kids
is from The Tampa Bay Times.

Foundations fund L.A. Times’ education reporting. A conflict? is from The Washington Post.

Gates Foundation Places Big Bet on Teacher Agenda is from Ed Week.

Silicon Valley’s New Philanthropy is from The New York Times.

Bill Gates spent a fortune to build it. Now a Florida school system is getting rid of it. is from The Washington Post.

Gates Foundation put millions of dollars into new education focus: Teacher preparation is from The Washington Post.

Walton Foundation’s new education investment strategy: Scary or what? is from The Washington Post.

From Social Movement to Social Change: Philanthropy and School Discipline Reform is from Inside Philanthropy.

Philanthropy’s 2015 Buzzwords: From ‘Effective Altruism’ to ‘Worm Wars’ is from The Chronicle Of Philanthropy.

Billionaires, Schools & “less than stellar results”

Walton Family Foundation Pledges $1 Billion to Charter Schools is from Ed Week.

Foundation Influence in Education Policy Deserves Greater Scrutiny is from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From Walton to Zuckerberg: How Education Philanthropy Has Changed is from Ed Week.

Netflix chief announces $100 million fund for education is from The Washington Post.

Alexander Russo has written a good piece on the LA Times’ potential conflict of interest by receiving funds from the Broad Foundation.

Ed Funders Need to Think Bigger About Systemic Change. Here Are Some Ideas is from Inside Philanthropy.

Second Quote Of The Day: Zuckerberg Wants “Partnership” With Teachers Unions

Zuckerberg, Chan Tap James Shelton to Lead Huge Education Giving Effort is from Ed Week.

Zuckerberg and Chan Hire Education Leader to Run Philanthropic Effort is from The New York Times.

Gates Foundation’s Mea Culpa

This series appeared in Ed Week:

Silver Bullets and Solutionism in Education Philanthropy

‘There’s an App for That’: Philanthropy’s Billion Dollar Bets

Getting In: The Challenges of Access to Elite Foundations

Into the Classroom: A Lesson on Philanthropy and Economic Inequality

L.A. Times Editorial Tears Into Gates Foundation

5 Dominant Theories in Education Philanthropy is from relinquishment (thanks to Alexander Russo for the tip).

Foundations Unfiltered is a behind-the-scenes peek at education foundations.

Gates Foundation to ‘stay the course’ as it seeks to help shape state education policies is from The Washington Post.

The “Big Bet” of a Funder That Hasn’t Forgotten Traditional Public Schools is from Inside Philanthropy.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Builds Political Muscle for Philanthropic Work is from The New York Times.

The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools is from The New York Times.

Gates, Zuckerberg Philanthropies Team Up on Personalized Learning is from Ed Week.

As Government Retrenches, Philanthropy Booms appeared in The New York Times.

Chan-Zuckerberg to Push Ambitious New Vision for Personalized Learning is from Ed Week.

Is Big Philanthropy Compatible With Democracy? is from The Atlantic.

‘Personalized Learning’ and the Power of the Gates Foundation to Shape Education Policy is from Audrey Watters.

On to Education—Chan Zuckerberg’s Next Investment is from NonProfit Quarterly.

Priscilla Chan is running one of the most ambitious philanthropies in the world is from ReCode.

Gates Foundation to move away from teacher evals, shifting attention to ‘networks’ of public schools is from Chalkbeat (also, see my previous post, Uh Oh – Bill Gates Has A New Big Ed Idea).

With Latest Education Investments, Gates Pivots Again is from Education Week.

Gates Foundation to move away from teacher evals, shifting attention to ‘networks’ of public schools is from Chalkbeat.

What’s Interesting About the Latest K-12 Move by Chan Zuckerberg is from Inside Philanthropy.

Full Circle? The Gates Pivot on Education and Where K-12 Philanthropy Is Heading is from Inside Philanthropy.

I’m Not Sure Mark Zuckerberg Learned The Right Lessons This Year….

Is Personalized Learning the Next Big Thing in K-12 Philanthropy? is from Inside Philanthropy.

With new focus on curriculum, Gates Foundation wades into tricky territory is from Matt Barnum.

Gates Say They’ll Focus More On Poverty Alleviation – That’s Better For Everybody!

Bill and Melinda Gates hear you is from The Washington Post.

Gates, Zuckerberg team up on new education initiative is from ABC News. Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Team Up to Seek ‘State of the Art’ Ideas for Schools is from Ed Week.

AP analysis shows how Bill Gates influences education policy is from The Associated Press.

After Spending $575 Million On Teacher Evaluation, Gates Foundation Says, “Oops”

How Education Philanthropy Can Accidentally Promote Groupthink and Bandwagonism is by Rick Hess.

Holding Donors Accountable is by Larry Cuban.

Billionaires fuel US charter schools movement is from The Associated Press.

THE SCARY FUTURE OF PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS IN EDUCATION

Additional suggestions are welcome.

Gates Foundation’s new school initiative awards big grants to California nonprofits is from Ed Source.

With $92 Million in Grants, Gates Foundation Launches Newest Strategy to Improve K-12 Schools is from Ed Week.

Gates Foundation gives $92 million to networks of schools in latest reform effort is from Chalkbeat.

Interview with Priscilla Chan: Her super-donor origin story is from TechCrunch.

Bezos pledges $2 billion to help homeless families and launch a network of preschools is from The Washington Post.

Lifting the veil on education’s newest big donor: Inside Chan Zuckerberg’s $300 million push to reshape schools is from Chalkbeat.

Jeff Bezos Cites a Big Number, but Few Details, in Plan for Low-Income Montessori Preschools is from The NY Times.

The problem with Jeff Bezos’s $2 billion gift to charity is from Vox.

Wealthy People Are Destroying Public Schools, One Donation At A Time is by Jeff Bryant.

Will Bezos Heed Other Education Philanthropy Mistakes? is from U.S. News.

What happens when you pay students to get ready for college? One state is about to find out, with help from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a Chalkbeat article about an initiative that makes me very skeptical. As the last line in the article says, a similar study found that paying students did not result in much success. I just wish these foundations would stop trying to bribe students and, instead, perhaps give teachers control about how this extra money could be spent – books for students, field trips, etc. I suspect there would be much more bang for the buck if they did that.

Jeff Bezos and the Trap of the Charitable-Industrial Complex is from The NY Times.

What happens when you pay students to get ready for college? One state is about to find out, with help from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is from Chalkbeat. It won’t.

Mark Zuckerberg Is Trying to Transform Education. This Town Fought Back. is from The Intelligencer.

Develop and Validate — Then Scale appeared in Education Next.

Billionaires are spending their fortunes reshaping America’s schools. It isn’t working. is from Vox.

The tragedy of Michael Bloomberg’s latest act of mega-philanthropy is from Vox.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has a new education leader is from Chalkbeat.

Donors Reform Schooling: Evaluating Teachers (Part 2) is from Larry Cuban.

Gates Announces Big Grants To Train Teachers In “High Quality” Curricula, But Who’s Going To Help Them Define “High Quality”?

Donors Reforming Schools in the U.S. (Part 4) is by Larry Cuban.

Ex-Microsoft CEO (No, Not That One) Giving Big to K-12 is from Ed Week.

Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Asked for Big New Education Ideas. Here’s What They Got. is from Ed Week.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has made over $100 million in education grants since 2018, new disclosure shows is from Chalkbeat.

5 MISTAKES MACKENZIE BEZOS AND OTHER MEGA-DONORS SHOULD AVOID is from Wired.

The Gates Foundation spent $775m on a Big Data education project that was worse than useless is from Boing Boing.

Koch Network Announces New Education Lobbying Group, Walton Funding Pact is from Ed Week.

Educators learn early results of Gates initiative to improve student outcomes is from Ed Source.

Hands-on Philanthropists With a Proven Track Record, Ray and Barbara Dalio Announced in April They Wanted to Give $100M to Connecticut Schools. And Then Things Got Complicated is from The 74.

The Gates Foundation has enormous impact. Its CEO leaving could have an enormous impact, too. is from Recode.

Bill and Melinda Gates have spent billions trying to fix U.S. public education but say it’s not having the impact they want is from CNBC.

New Round of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Grants Steers Clear of Ed Tech is from US News.

Nothing good is going to come of this: Cuomo taps Gates Foundation to ‘reimagine’ what schooling looks like in NY is from Chalkbeat.

Cuomo questions why school buildings still exist — and says New York will work with Bill Gates to ‘reimagine education’ is from The Washington Post.

Netflix’s billionaire founder is secretly building a luxury retreat for teachers in rural Colorado is from Vox.

More than 70 employees at Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy say it needs to change how it deals with race is from Vox.

Working for Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropy isn’t always easy since it means working for Mark Zuckerberg is from Vox.

Jeff Bezos Wants to Go to the Moon. Then, Public Education. is from Ed Surge. It’s a weirdly positive article about turning public education over to Amazon, but it’s important to be aware of what they might want to do – as ridiculous as it may sound.

Bill and Melinda Gates Are Divorcing After 27 Years of Marriage is from The NY Times.

The biggest impact of the Gates divorce may have nothing to do with the Gates Foundation is from Recode.

After a high point in the Obama administration, philanthropies no longer drive education policy is from Chalkbeat. I’m adding it to the same list.

Big education funders Gates, Walton, and Chan Zuckerberg are coming together to seek ‘breakthroughs.’ Will it work? is from Chalkbeat.

MacKenzie Scott’s Money Bombs Are Single Handedly Reshaping America is from Bloomberg.

Get to Know Communities in Schools: Inside MacKenzie Scott’s $133 Million Donation to America’s Top Organization Focused on Preventing Student Dropouts is from The 74.

Millions Toward Tutoring: Funders Bank on the Recovery Strategy Despite Big Challenges is from Ed Week.

GATES FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES HUGE INCREASE IN GRANTMAKING – I HOPE IN EDUCATION THEY DON’T THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD

GATES THROWS A BILLION AT MATH EDUCATION – WE’LL SEE IF THEY HAVE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THEIR MANY PAST MISTAKES

How Would Teachers Spend the Gates Foundation $1.1 Billion Investment in Math? is from Ed Week.

‘We just hit the lottery’: MacKenzie Scott gives big to school districts is from Chalkbeat.

Big Money for Schools, No Strings Attached: Will MacKenzie Scott Change Education Philanthropy? is from Ed Week.

IT SOUNDS LIKE GATES IS PUTTING THAT BILLION FOR MATH EDUCATION INTO ED TECH

Another tech bro who was convinced he could revolutionize education learns he might not know everything, after all: Mark Zuckerberg tried to revolutionize American education with technology. It didn’t go as planned. is from Chalkbeat.

If you found this post useful, you might want to consider subscribing to this blog for free.

You might also want to explore the nearly 600 other “The Best…” lists I’ve compiled.