Yesterday, thanks to a random article, I was reminded of the remarkable philanthropic program widely known as?MacArthur ?genius? grants.
Every year, the MacArthur Foundation gives about 25 individuals $500,000 apiece. The winners don't apply; they don't even know they've been nominated. Nominators and selectors are anonymous. If you're lucky enough to win, you get a call out of the blue.
Even better, the awards come with no-strings-attached. The foundation identifies talented, creative, self-directed people with major potential and then trusts them to spend the awards as they wish.
So I got to wondering: How many ed reformers have won?
Since the program's inception in 1981, about 800 people have been chosen. According to the foundation's web site, only 21 have been from education.
I looked up their biographies and was somewhat surprised by what I found. Though, of course, they are all impressive, interesting people doing important work, for the most part they are either outside or on the periphery of the headline-grabbing ?education reform? issues of the day?how to fix urban school systems, ramp up human capital efforts, create new schools, etc.
For example, a few have specialized in music and dance education; one focused on high school debate and another on oral history. A few taught cultural learning, others early childhood development.
The three notable exceptions I found were *Robert Moses (1982) of the Algebra Project;?Deborah Meier (1987), who has worked with a variety of successful low-income urban schools; and?Deborah Bial (2007), founder of the Posse Foundation.
I'm not quite sure what to make of this. In all likelihood it's just because lots of people are worthy;?today's ed reformers have probably just missed out because of the numbers. (The range of subjects covered is really quite expansive, including some of my other interests.)
Or maybe the judges think other foundations give plenty to ed reform and/or that our community gets enough publicity as is. Maybe the judges just aren't that familiar with or interested in the dominant issues of K-12 reform today.
I suspect it's the first and that soon they'll recognize one of our field's leaders. In the outrageously small probability that one of these genius-selectors reads Flypaper, here's my humble recommendation.
While I think there are numerous individuals deserving of the recognition, in my opinion the most far-reaching and under-appreciated story in K-12 schooling is the reconsideration and overhaul of the traditional urban school district. What was one thought permanent and immutable?having dominated public education delivery for a century?despite its egregious flaws?is being revealed as perfectly dispensable. Getting the replacement right could improve the life chances of tens of millions of kids.
For nearly 20 years, the two best thinkers and writers on this subject have been Paul Hill and Ted Kolderie. In recent years, the best doers are those associated with the changes underway in New York City and New Orleans.
I know it's not $500,000, but maybe this little shout-out can serve as a symbolic advance until the good people at MacArthur give one of these folks?or any of the countless other deserving ed reformers?a ring.
?Andy Smarick
* Thanks to a reader for pointing out Moses' early award, which I had missed.