"Kappan"'s editor talks with Michigan State University's Sarah Reckhow about her research into the ways wealthy private philanthropies have influenced K-12 education in recent years. As Reckhow explains, not only have Gates, Broad, Walton, and other big foundations spent unprecedented amounts of money to support their favored reform…

Wealthy parents in public school districts across the country are engaged in elaborate fund-raising efforts to improve the quality of education in their children's schools, giving them an advantage over families in schools without the same level of access to external resources. Through evaluating parent responses to district policies that address…

Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center is a philanthropic project that has received considerable funding and close attention from an American corporation for nearly 20 years. That marks a sharp departure from the typical three-and-out funding scheme that so many foundations take with their enterprises. It will continue to receive…

The Boone Hope Foundation has given away over $130,000 in gift cards, rent checks, and eyeglasses--all targeted to help students with emergency needs related to food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare in its rural Iowa community. This is the story of teachers from a typical Midwestern school--relatively small and certainly not affluent--who have…

The latest wave of reform in urban schools, led by the venture philanthropists, has made a great deal of change, without much progress. Foundations with a venture philanthropy bent, like the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Broad Foundation, say market principles, such as choice and competition, will improve schools. If…

Foundations must encourage rigorous debate over objectives, strategies, and outcomes as they become more engaged in policy-focused giving. In doing this, they must make it abundantly clear that they won't blacklist critics. The value of skeptics is that they raise unpleasant issues and make it possible for those inside an organizational bubble to…

The increased high expectations for student performance has led to greater pressures on school resources. While most families support the idea of quality schools for all students, adequate funding has not matched these high expectations. The vast majority of families are increasingly unable to vote in those additional resources due to a radical…

Explores myths that keep researchers from applying for grants. (IRT)

Outlines the way decisions are made in the Carnegie Corporation, notes the flaws in this approach, and suggests ways to regulate such philanthropic foundations. (IRT)

Given the lean times in education today, a coordinated fund-raising effort could highly benefit public K-12 education. An office of development could coordinate grant writing, interaction with foundations, corporate partnerships, the development of endowed chairs, and individual fund raising and manage local fund raisers. Development follows three…

The Gift-in-Kind Clearing House is an innovative service that funnels surplus inventory, equipment, and supplies donated by business and industry to schools, colleges, and nonprofit organizations in the two Carolinas. Corporations receive tax incentives for their outdated products, which schools can often obtain at 10 percent of normal cost. (MLH)

Describes the SerVermont initiative, an innovative volunteer program for high school students supported neither by state legislation nor public funds. It came into being through a nationally recognized service-learning expert's willingness to work closely with the governor, the state education commissioner, superintendents, and community agencies…

Even though Joel lived a continent away, many sixth-graders at a Title I school in California could easily identify with his life of poverty. Their empathy motivated them to launch an ambitious charitable project, which, Mr. Mitchell argues, had far greater educational value than the relentless test preparation that is standard fare in most…

The State University of New York at Albany initiated a pioneering university/philanthropist/school district partnership building on the success of millionaire Eugene Lang's 1981 offer to pay college tuition for 61 East Harlem sixth graders. SUNY's School of Education offers administrative expertise and plans enrichment activities for 96 inner-city…

Discusses the Adopt-a-School program, in which businesses donate services and volunteers to particular schools. Lists some of the companies involved, describes programs in eight cities, and warns of too much business influence on school philosophies and curricula. (RW)