Gates Foundation to Give up to $10 Million to Support Teacher Training on High-Quality Curricula
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has made further advancements in its efforts to promote education philanthropy. The foundation recently revealed that it will be providing new grants to support the training of teachers in implementing high-quality curricula.
According to the foundation, it believes that training educators on how to effectively use and adapt existing high-quality curricula can have a greater impact on student achievement compared to the curricula alone. However, previous research has demonstrated that professional development often yields inconsistent results. Additionally, the costs associated with developing and covering licensing fees for successful professional learning can be substantial.
In 2017, the Gates Foundation made a strategic decision to shift its focus from test-based teacher evaluations and the Common Core, towards supporting networks of middle and high schools, as well as charter schools that cater to special education students. In line with this shift, the foundation plans to distribute $1.7 billion over five years, with $92 million already awarded to school networks.
Furthermore, the Gates Foundation provides financial support to , an education news outlet.
The newly announced grants will be awarded to teams consisting of curriculum authors, professional development providers, and school districts. These grants will support six to ten partnerships, with each partnership receiving no more than one million dollars. The funding will extend over a two-and-a-half-year period and will be allocated towards training on successful curricula in middle school subjects such as math, English, and science, as well as high school math and English. The foundation has expressed a particular interest in projects that benefit student populations in California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and North Carolina, specifically those who are at least 50 percent black, Latino, English language learners, and/or low-income. For projects situated outside of these states, the districts involved must serve a minimum of 50,000 students.
Interested organizations can submit their proposals by March 8, and the foundation anticipates announcing the winners in May. To stay updated with news from the Gates Foundation, individuals can sign up for newsletter.
