>From <http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/current/004396.html> Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards $12 Million to Improve Chicago High Schools The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a five-year, $12 million grant in support of an initiative to improve several Chicago high schools by splitting them into smaller units. The $18.2 million effort calls for converting four to six large neighborhood high schools into 15 to 20 smaller ones of no more than 450 students each over five years. High schools will be invited to submit proposals for conversion into small schools. Once selected, groups can then apply to create small schools at these sites and will have a year to plan the changes. The schools will be encouraged to rethink fundamental practices, such as staffing, scheduling, assessment, governance, budget, and parental and community involvement. Chicago foundations intend to raise $6.2 million to augment the Gates commitment, including the Chicago Community Trust, the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the Steans Family Foundation. The initiative will be directed by a board appointed by the mayor, the Chicago Board of Education, and local foundations. The grants will be deposited into a fund coordinated by the Chicago Community Trust, which will work with the city, the Chicago Public Schools, and the foundations to determine how the money will be allocated. "Experience in Chicago and other cities has shown that students learn more in smaller high schools, they have better attendance, and they're less likely to drop out," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. "These generous grants could lead to dramatic changes in our high schools and significant increases in student achievement." The Gates Foundation is funding "small-schools" efforts in Oakland, New York, Cincinnati, St. Paul, and throughout Washington state. "Daley announces major program to create smaller high schools." Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Press Release. 08/30/01. FC004396 -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
