Frederick M. Hess's Blog
Watering Greenfield
by Frederick M. Hess • May 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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The lifeblood of efforts to rethink schooling or devise new solutions is the money it takes to make them work. These dollars can come from three sources: profit-seeking investors, philanthropy, or government. To date, the lion's share of the bucks have come from philanthropy. In a new piece published today in Education Next, "Fueling the Engine," I explore why entrepreneurs have had trouble raising funds and how the philanthropic sector has sought to tackle that challenge. (The article is an excerpt from my new book Education Unbound).
This is all of particular relevance today, as more than 2,000 districts, schools, and nonprofits have notified the U.S. Department of Ed that they'll be submitting applications for i3 grants. "We're making an unprecedented investment in cutting-edge ideas that will produce the next generation of school reforms," Secretary Duncansaid when he announced the grant competition. Over $650 million in funds will be awarded, and a coalition of foundations announced last week that it will offer up to half a billion dollars to match the federal grants.
This is an intriguing development. Whether this federal investment deepens the pool of resources for new providers (especially in light of the "collaboration" between ED and twelve major funders) or swamps the sector and enriches some while making it harder for others to get a hearing remains to be seen. Remember, the i3 investment probably amounts to a third or more of school reform investment in the U.S. this year, and the
