KCTS Connects Special: The Learning Curve

Lessons Learned: The Gates Foundation Goes to High School

Thursday, December 1, at 8:00 p.m.

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Bill and Melinda Gates are putting more private money into American's public education system than anyone in history. The initiative started in 2000 here in Washington state. Now, the first grants have run their course. Have five years and $70 million improved Washington state schools?

In a special report airing on KCTS Connects, Jenny Cunningham talks to teachers, students and school administrators, and to Tom Vander Ark, the Gates Foundation's executive director for education initiatives. The report focuses on the experiences of two school districts: Seattle — urban, large, and ethnically and racially diverse — and Enumclaw — rural, small and 92 percent white. Through interviews, Cunningham provides the inside story behind the Gates Foundation's decision not to renew Seattle's grant. She also shares what internal school district documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal concerning how parents and teachers feel about the changes that have resulted from the foundation grants.

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