Q. What is the goal of the foundation's Education initiative?

A. Our goal is to ensure that all students in the United States, regardless of race or family income, graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. To this end, we identify and support communities and organizations across the country that are working to improve high schools. We also award scholarships to promising students who don't have the financial means to attend college, and we support early learning initiatives in Washington state.

Our investments are designed to foster innovative educational opportunities for our young people, spark public engagement, and create a seamless web of support for high-quality learning from a child's first years through college and the workplace.

Q. Why does the high school system need reform?

A. Millions of young people are sitting in classrooms bored, unchallenged, and disengaged. Most high school students earn a diploma but do not gain the skills to attend college or get a job that can support a family—or they simply drop out. Every year more than 1.1 million students leave high school before they finish.

Our nation's failure to ensure all young people have the knowledge and life skills they need to be successful undermines America's most fundamental values of equality and opportunity. Our young people risk becoming less engaged, less prepared, and less capable of leading us into a brighter future.

Q. Why does the foundation focus primarily on high schools?

A. During the past decade, remarkable progress has been made in improving elementary schools. The problems at the high school level have been much more complex and difficult to address. Still, we believe high schools can improve. Successful schools take many forms, but their students all benefit from high expectations in every classroom and strong support to reach their goals.

Q. Why is the foundation interested in making sure students graduate high school with the skills to succeed in college, career, and life?

A. All students need rigorous preparation to succeed in work and life after high school. Whether they go on to college, seek vocational training, or go directly into the workplace, high school graduates need similar core courses to get a job that pays a living wage and to choose the life path that best suits them.

Studies show that more than 80 percent of students want to go to college, yet fewer than half do. All students deserve access to the education they need to fulfill their dreams. By ensuring college readiness, our high schools can expand opportunities for every student.

Q. How much has the foundation invested in education?

A. To date, we have invested about $1.9 billion to improve high school education for all students, including the creation of more than 1,800 high-quality high schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia. We have also made select investments in early learning in Washington state.

We are also dedicated to reducing the financial obstacles that prevent students from entering college. We have committed more than $1.7 billion through our scholarships, which include the Gates Cambridge Scholars, the Gates Millennium Scholars, the Gates Public Service Law Scholarship, the Washington State Achievers Scholarship, and the DC Achievers Scholarship.

Q. How does the foundation decide where to invest its money?

A. We award the majority of our grants to tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations in our three program areas: Global Development, Global Health, and United States. The Education initiative awards grants in three areas:

• Initiatives that increase U.S. rates for high school graduation and college readiness
  
  
• Scholarships for promising students who can't afford college
  
  
• Early learning programs in Washington state

Our staff identifies potential grant recipients.
The Education initiative does not accept, and cannot respond to, unsolicited proposals or letters of inquiry.

Q. Why don't you accept unsolicited grant proposals or letters of inquiry?

A. We recognize the huge difficulties facing states, districts, and schools across the country. We have found that proactively identifying and supporting education projects, rather than responding to inquiries for funding, is the most effective way for us to help with this important issue. 

Q. How does the foundation know these efforts are working?

A. We fund research to discover which practices work best. We also ask independent partners to evaluate the initiatives we support. Summaries are listed in the Research and Evaluation section of this Web site.

Overall, our research and evaluations show that while the work is hard, education reform efforts are making progress. We are encouraged by positive indicators from many of the model schools we support around the country, as noted in the most recent foundation evaluation. Attendance is up, discipline cases are down, and classroom learning is improving, with more relevant lessons and stronger student-teacher relationships.