The Gates Effect

More to the point, others wonder: Is the Gates Foundation making the right calls? The early results of its high school reinvention efforts--with many foundation-backed schools now in their fourth year of existence--are mixed at best. Outside researchers hired by Gates have found "positive cultures" at the new and redesigned schools but raise serious questions about such issues as the teacher burnout, attendance, and the quality of math instruction.

Particularly troublesome has been the effort to transform existing high schools rather than start from scratch. "Improving struggling schools remains a challenge," admits Vander Ark. Indeed, the foundation's own studies show that these restructured schools are often bogged down in their early years with questions about facilities, schedules, and staff. In some cases, says Vander Ark, instead of beginning with structural change, "it may be better to start with curriculum--getting rid of dead-end classes and encouraging students to take more challenging courses--and improving the quality of instruction."

Even where Gates is supporting what appear to be promising models, big questions remain about how to sustain and replicate those efforts in financially strapped school districts. Consider Aspire Public Schools (a past Social Capitalist Awards winner) with its 14 Gates-funded charter schools in California, 4 of which opened this year. CEO Don Shalvey says both he and the Gates staff would like Aspire to move faster. "But we're leaking oil just about everywhere. We're getting good results, but it's messy. At the end of the day, the big issue is capacity and not getting too far ahead of yourself." Researchers working for Gates also concluded that the new schools it's backing are especially vulnerable to changes in funding formulas that could dramatically increase class sizes or lead to sizable teacher layoffs.

Surviving long term is a concern for fledgling DECA, which Gates funded via the KnowledgeWorks Foundation in Ohio. Dayton's early-college school is already faring well on such measures as attendance and state test scores. And some of its 221 students show great promise. Saffa Al-Hamdani, a lively 16-year-old girl wearing the traditional black head scarf of her native Iraq, confesses she struggled in reading in middle school. Today, she tutors Arab girls in English at a nearby elementary school and relishes public speaking. She dreams of attending Columbia University or New York University and becoming a pediatrician.

But "it will not be enough if little DECA becomes a good school. It has to be a ripple that gains momentum," says principal Hennessey. Strikingly, DECA spends more than $14,000 per student versus $9,100 at the nearby affluent, mostly white district where Hennessey was formerly superintendent. "I think we're very tentative with this model because of the cost," she says.

To its credit, the Gates Foundation appears to be digging in for the long haul. It's improving its research and data collection, investing more in advocacy to shape state and federal policy, and creating a powerful network of grantees who share ideas and best practices. The increasing sophistication is a far cry from what Shalvey remembers of his first grant from Gates in 2000: He and Vander Ark worked out the details on the back of an envelope while riding in a cab. In those heady, freewheeling days, jumping on the problem was all that mattered. Now it's time for Gates's big bets to start paying off.

Wendy Zellner is a freelance writer in Pittsburgh.