Following the Money in Education Philanthropy

Philanthropic foundations have been giving money to public education for years.  In 1993, the Annenberg Challenge put $500 million towards improving the K-12 system. At the time, it was the largest private gift ever made to public schools. Since then, philanthropies such as The Bill ands Melinda Gates Foundation have poured billions more into education.

Our guest on the podcast this week studies education reform and the role of outside money in K-12 education. In Sarah Reckhow’s book Follow the Money: How Foundation Dollars Change Public School Politics, she argues that philanthropies are increasingly pushing specific educational agendas. And she says that more and more, different philanthropies are funding the same programs and organizations.