Districts lead the charge in redesigning high schools.

In past years, our education grants have focused on improvements at the school level. But we learned that helping schools alone is not enough, so in 2005, we devoted more attention and resources to school district reform. We made grants to Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York City, Oakland, Portland (Oregon), and five districts in Washington state. Districts are important because they can drive reform at individual schools by providing expertise and resources, including teacher training and curriculum development. And since they're responsible for entire school systems, they can ensure that all students—not just a few—receive a rigorous education.

Many of our district grants were designed to help districts draw up plans to redesign their high schools. For instance, Atlanta Public Schools' grant will support the early planning stages of a redesign effort. Working with several education organizations, Atlanta will develop a strategy to build on the early success of a two-year-old program to transform failing comprehensive high schools into smaller, more dynamic schools. Portland Public Schools, which is further along in the redesign process, will create a diverse group of high-quality high schools and institute standards that match up with what colleges and employers expect high school graduates to know.