Bill Gates Gets Schooled

The cover story of the latest Business Week has an extensive report on the Gates Foundation's efforts to reform U.S. high schools and various related topics.  While there's certainly room for improvement, as the article points out -- no surprise, given the complexity and magnitude of the task -- this is an incredibly important and admirable undertaking.

 

That being said, I wish they were talking more about both: a) competition and educational alternatives for parents and their children; and b) measuring teachers and principals and rewarding the best (and removing the worst).

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JUNE 26, 2006

Business Week COVER STORY

Bill Gates Gets Schooled

Why he and other execs have struggled in their school reform efforts, and why they keep trying http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_26/b3990001.htm

Editor's Note: On June 15, William H. Gates III announced that he would give up his day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft Corp., by stepping down as the company's chief software architect. He plans to continue as chairman of the company through 2008, when he will cede any leadership role at the company he co-founded 31 years ago. The following story shines a spotlight on Gates's post-Microsoft future. He is giving up the chief software architect role, so that he can concentrate his time on the charitable activities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. One of the $29 billion foundation's key initiatives is improving high-school education in the U. S. Here's a look at how Bill and Melinda Gates have become personally involved in this Herculean task.

What does a troubled public school do when Microsoft Corp. (MSFT ) Chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, come knocking with $1 million and a rescue plan? Manual High School, a hulking, 112-year-old brick edifice serving several poor neighborhoods in Denver, faced that question back in 2000. It had been a respected school for many years, with a mix of middle-class white kids, most of whom were bused in, and less-well-off minorities. The school scored well on tests overall and fielded outstanding sports teams. But when forced busing ended in 1996, Manual's student body quickly became 90% minority and much poorer. Soon the school was dead last on state tests, with a mile-high dropout rate of about 50%. The Gateses proposed to split up the student body of 1,100 into three smaller schools. The theory was that in more intimate environments, students, teachers, and staff could develop close relationships that would boost kids' desire to learn and stay in school.

But even the world's richest couple couldn't pass this test. The breakup occurred too quickly, before anyone had developed a clear vision for the three schools, each of which was supposed to have a theme such as leadership or art and culture. Two of the three principals were rookies, so they didn't have experience to guide them. Because the schools were so small, they couldn't offer as many electives as before. French was eliminated, leaving only Spanish for many students who already spoke it. Advanced Placement courses were reduced. Sports teams struggled just to field squads. When the famed choir was limited to one school, the popular director left, and that program withered, along with band and theater...