With the Best of Intentions: How Philanthropy Is Reshaping K-12 Education - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1891792652 ISBN 13: 9781891792656

Publisher: Harvard Education Press, 2005

Synopsis

Bringing together a mix of researchers and practitioners, With the Best of Intentions examines the major goals of recent philanthropic efforts and looks at some of the key lessons--for educators, philanthropists, policymakers, and community leaders--of philanthropic contributions to schools and school systems.

From the Gates small school initiative to the Annenberg challenge to the Broad prize for urban education, philanthropic giving has played an increasingly prominent role in recent years in education reform efforts across the United States. Yet while we recognize that philanthropic organizations influence education in countless ways, we know strikingly little about the extent, dynamics, and results of their efforts. This lack of knowledge calls out for urgent attention of total K-12 spending, it has a disproportionate impact in shaping reform agendas and promoting cutting-edge efforts to improve schools and classrooms.

With the Best of Intentions aims to fill this gap, offering lively perspectives on the role of philanthropy in K-12 education. It opens by surveying the current landscape in philanthropic giving to education, then examines the major goals of recent philanthropic efforts: building new schools, supporting troubled districts, promoting school choice, and advancing educational research and policy. The book concludes by looking at some of the major lessons--for educators, philanthropists, policymakers, and community leaders--of philanthropic contributions to schools and school systems.

An informative and multifaceted volume, With the Best of Intentions is also full of debates and controversies. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers, and education and community leaders--as well as to the philanthropic community itself.

About this title

About the Author

Frederick M. Hess is Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and Executive Editor of Education Next. He is the editor of Urban School Reform: Lessons from San Diego and the coeditor of A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom, both published by Harvard Education Press.

From the Back Cover

What role does philanthropy play in K-12 education? How much private funding is devoted to public education? What kinds of programs does this funding support? What roles have philanthropists played in advancing reform? What are the challenges facing foundations that want to contribute to K-12 education?

With the Best of Intentions is a pioneering effort to address these questions, which until now have rarely been examined. Bringing together a mix of researchers and practitioners, it surveys the current landscape in philanthropic giving to education, examines the major goals of recent philanthropic efforts, and looks at some of the key lessons—for educators, philanthropists, policymakers, and community leaders—of philanthropic contributions to schools and school systems.

An informative and multifaceted volume, With the Best of Intentions is a provocative first look at the issues of education philanthropy that will be of interest to anyone concerned with the present and future state of education.

“Hess’s compilation provides a thoughtful, reasoned, and frequently pointed examination of K-12 philanthropy, a sector accustomed to accolades and sheltered from the impulsiveness of the ballot box. This volume invites the sincere reflections and heated discussions that are urgently needed among policymakers, educators, and the philanthropic community as educational philanthropy increasingly seeks to improve our nation’s schools.” — Stefanie Sanford, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“This is a groundbreaking volume for education reformers and philanthropists. The wealth of research presented here surveys the landscape, raises critical questions, and illuminates the challenges for us all to consider as we strive to change public education and provide all children with the schools they deserve.” — Wendy Kopp, Founder, Teach for America

Frederick M. Hess is Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and Executive Editor of Education Next. He is the editor of Urban School Reform: Lessons from San Diego and the coeditor of A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom, both published by Harvard Education Press.

From the Inside Flap

What role does philanthropy play in K-12 education? How much private funding is devoted to public education? What kinds of programs does this funding support? What roles have philanthropists played in advancing reform? What are the challenges facing foundations that want to contribute to K-12 education?

With the Best of Intentions is a pioneering effort to address these questions, which until now have rarely been examined. Bringing together a mix of researchers and practitioners, it surveys the current landscape in philanthropic giving to education, examines the major goals of recent philanthropic efforts, and looks at some of the key lessons--for educators, philanthropists, policymakers, and community leaders--of philanthropic contributions to schools and school systems.

An informative and multifaceted volume, With the Best of Intentions is a provocative first look at the issues of education philanthropy that will be of interest to anyone concerned with the present and future state of education.

"Hess's compilation provides a thoughtful, reasoned, and frequently pointed examination of K-12 philanthropy, a sector accustomed to accolades and sheltered from the impulsiveness of the ballot box. This volume invites the sincere reflections and heated discussions that are urgently needed among policymakers, educators, and the philanthropic community as educational philanthropy increasingly seeks to improve our nation's schools." -- Stefanie Sanford, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

"This is a groundbreaking volume for education reformers and philanthropists. The wealth of research presented here surveys the landscape, raises critical questions, and illuminates the challenges for us all to consider as we strive to change public education and provide all children with the schools they deserve." -- Wendy Kopp, Founder, Teach for America

Frederick M. Hess is Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and Executive Editor of Education Next. He is the editor of Urban School Reform: Lessons from San Diego and the coeditor of A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom, both published by Harvard Education Press.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Education Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1891792652
• ISBN 13: 9781891792656
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348
• Editor: Hess Frederick M.