Frederick M. Hess's Blog
i3 News: Much Ado About Nothing... And Yet Still Cause for Concern
by Frederick M. Hess • Apr 30, 2010 at 9:53 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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I can't decide whether yesterday's U.S. Department of Education press release on the new "partnership"between twelve foundations and ED's i3 effort is just a painful example of vapid triumphalism or whether it actually sends a worrisome signal. I'm mostly inclined to think it's much ado about nothing. After all, as Ed Week's intrepid Michele McNeil pointed out yesterday, "The new, collaborative effort is not a pooled fund of grants; each foundation will retain control over its contribution...nor is the initiative announced by the U.S. Department of Education April 29 a commitment of additional funding...The $506 million represents the total amount of money they had planned to spend this year on what they consider education innovation."
In other words, it's not new money and the various foundations are retaining full control over the funds they are giving. Instead, the only real developments are that the foundations are signaling their fealty to i3 and
