Gates Foundation and Race to the Top

The Gates Foundation - which certainly approves of the Race to the Top agenda - is financially supporting various states in writing up their "Race off the Cliff" application. From EdWeek:

The Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has hand-picked states to receive up to $250,000 each to hire consultants to help them fill out their applications. Those states are Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

They represent either states in which Gates is already invested—or which the foundation thinks are on the right path to school improvement.

Chris Williams, a foundation spokesman, said he would not comment on any Race to the Top work the foundation is doing in states.

But state officials have wasted no time in making use of the assistance. Kentucky, for one, is hiring the Bridgespan Group—a national nonprofit- and philanthropic-consulting firm—with its money from the Gates Foundation.

“That group will be a key component in our application, helping us structure it and get the appropriate information entered,” said Lisa Gross, a Kentucky education department spokeswoman. “We will be working very closely, in some cases on a daily basis, with ... Bridgespan.”