U.S. corporations donate an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion a year to K-12 education. A new report argues that’s not enough. The report, published by Harvard Business School, the Boston Consulting Group and the Gates Foundation, aims to prod CEOs to move beyond “checkbook philanthropy” and push more transformative change on the public education system. It cites as models a successful drive by business leaders in San Antonio to win voter approval for a sales tax hike to fund pre-K programs, and ExxonMobil’s efforts to improve math and science instruction through teacher training. Too often, the authors conclude, business leaders sell public education short: They “lack confidence that America’s schools can be made excellent” and thus don’t engage deeply in reform. Educators, in turn, “view business as a useful source of near-term funding and volunteer manpower, but rarely as a long-term partner.”
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A companion piece explores a survey given to more than 1,100 superintendents nationwide. Nearly all reported some form of business involvement in their districts, and most viewed that positively. But just 3 percent described local business leaders as well-informed about public education – and 14 percent characterized them as outright misinformed. Only 12 percent of superintendents said the local business community was deeply involved in the public schools.
For more on the survey details, please visit: http://bit.ly/1erlak3
