Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/882783
What are the Bechtel Foundation's goals with education funding? One part is about students, how their imagination can be captured and how they can use their big brains as much as possible. Stephen Bechtel sees the potential in all children, and wants to maximize opportunities for them to learn in an engaging way. Investing in STEM education in the early grades works toward this goal. Another part is giving teachers access to quality data and professional development, so they 're fully equipped and prepared to teach the new stan- dards. And we support social-emotional learning and character development so children can make the most of all kinds of learning opportunities. How does that set Bechtel apart from other educational funders? We invest in public schools, public education. Some are reluctant to do that — it takes hard work and signifi- cant resources sustained over a lengthy period of time. We always make an effort to learn from the field what is working and what is not, and disseminate what our supported districts are learning to others. This foundation has a real will to invite solutions from the people near the challenges, rather than come up with solutions in our offices. We are constantly trying to listen, value and respect the experts in the field — and teachers are the experts. We work side by side. If something is not working, we work with them to develop a course correction. What are the determining factors in funding ILC? Our team concluded teachers were a critical part of STEM education for California kids, and needed support to teach the new standards. ILC grapples with emerging and promising research about how kids grow and develop, and adjusts the practice, rather than designing something brand-new. It's a way for teachers who are hav- ing success to show other teachers. We hear this from teachers: One of the best methods of professional development is peer to peer. When teachers find out what works for their peers, it's very effective and powerful. ILC members can influence other projects — in districts, county offices of education — and help them be better. It scales to reach more teachers in imple- mentation of the Common Core and NGSS. It has the capacity to commit to the work and complete the work. And it's representative of the state. Why is the work of teachers unions important in education? We really respect the leaders in K-12 education, including in unions. We need teacher voice in implementation, and CTA has a lot of teacher voice. We value CTA leadership, its vision, and its ability to implement at a scale that we can't get to through other efforts. How is long-term sustainability of ILC best achieved? We're seeing sustainability now: ILC teachers are taking things they 've learned through the effort and assum- ing new roles in their own areas. That is a huge success. But ILC must go deeper, focus on hard-to-serve areas, and forge more and stronger partnerships. It must build off the leadership and network already in place. It must be attentive to scale while being thoughtful and intentional about putting teacher teams together. Scale is connected to capacity — you have to balance. ILC has 200-plus core members; if it has 1,000 core members, what do you lose in the interactions? ILC's work has a resounding rip- ple effect, in the number of teachers reached, in changes to district policy about the new standards, in reinforcing the value of teacher voice in profes- sional development. Funders will be looking for ways to close the gap, foster future teachers, and ensure teacher quality and retention. Bechtel Foundation Invests in Tomorrow's Leaders The vision of the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, which helps fund the work of CTA's Instructional Leadership Corps (ILC), is for a productive, vibrant and sustainable California that is a model of success and a source of innovation. Its educational grants focus on student and educator projects in STEM education, charac- ter development and environmental literacy, and encourage effective education policy. The foundation emphasizes educator input, ongoing evaluation and learning, and strengthening capacity. For maximum impact, it will spend down its entire assets by 2020. Here, Susan Harvey, education program director, and Arron Jiron, senior program officer, dis- cuss the foundation's funding philosophy and investment in ILC. (Their responses are blended.) 56 cta.org Arron Jiron Susan Harvey Teaching & Learning L E A D E R S H I P