Local School Boards Vote to Join Gates Effort

School boards in Memphis, Pittsburgh, and Hillsborough County, Fla., voted this week to take part in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s national $500-million program to improve teacher effectiveness, according to press reports.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa and is the country’s eighth-largest school district, will get $100-million, the biggest of the grants announced so far. Memphis and Pittsburgh will receive $90-million and $40-million, respectively, with a consortium of Los Angeles charter schools due to get an as-yet-undisclosed amount.