The Alliance for Education receives $100,000 gift from Bill & Melinda Gates

Media contact
Jacque Coe
Communications Director
Alliance for Education
Phone: 206.205.0327

SEATTLE -- The Alliance for Education today announced a $100,000 gift from Bill and Melinda Gates to support learning opportunities for students in the Seattle Public Schools.

"We are very appreciative of this generous gift from Bill and Melinda Gates. With this grant, the Alliance for Education will be able to fund initiatives that strategically increase learning opportunities for both students and teachers in the Seattle Public Schools," said Jacque Coe, communications director for the Alliance for Education.

"Bill and Melinda believe that learning is a life-long process and supporting organizations such as the Alliance for Education reinforces their commitment to enhancing student learning by opening doors to new information," said Bill Gates, Sr., director of the William H. Gates Foundation.

Some of the Alliance for Education initiatives include:
 
  • Teach the Teachers: A residential model summer technology institute that prepares teachers to use technology as a classroom learning tool.

  • Bringing Theatre into the Classroom: A weeklong summer institute that prepares teachers to use drama as a classroom learning tool.

  • World Trade Organization Curriculum: A case study learning experience that will link Seattle secondary students to the exciting events of the WTO by giving them greater understanding of careers and issues related to international trade.

  • Urban Scholars: An after-school job skills training program provided by Seattle's leading corporations that leads to mentored summer employment for high school juniors.

  • Students in the Workplace: Job shadowing events through which several hundred high school students annually observe how classroom learning relates to the requirements of the workplace.

  • VISTA Service Learning Project: A program through which 11 Alliance-sponsored VISTAs are building a framework for integrated community service in Seattle middle schools.

  • Team Read: A program through which students from all Seattle public high schools tutor students from 10 elementary schools in reading.|

  • Principal Leadership Institute: A program which provides advanced leadership training for all principals, along with related training for a cohort of "aspiring" principals, aimed at preparing them to be serve as "CEOs" and instructional leaders in their schools.
The Alliance for Education is a private, nonprofit community organization working in close partnership with the Seattle Public Schools to support initiatives that target increased academic achievement by all students. The Alliance serves as a catalyst for school improvement and works to ensure that the District has the resources necessary to prepare students for post-secondary education, successful careers and productive citizenship.