Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies is the charitable foundation of Michael Bloomberg.

It is focused on five policy areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education.

Lobbying for corporate education reform

Bloomberg Philanthropies, under the Bloomberg Education Policy Initiative, is lobbying for reform of America's education system. It also donates money to pro-reform political candidates.

Its funding is directed at two areas of reform: leadership in education; and lobbying for specific policy changes. Some of these benefit corporate education providers.

Education reform as Mayor of New York

Michael Bloomberg, who was mayor of New York from 2002-2013, stated that education reform would be his greatest legacy. To achieve this, he made the city a 'national laboratory for education reform'

Choice, competition, marketplace and accountability: these are the buzzwords that characterized the reforms under Bloomberg. They provide the basis for much of the educational reform movement. They also mirror education reforms introduced by Tony Blair in the UK; Blair's former education advisor, Michael Barber, then of McKinsey, was one of a handful of advisors to Bloomberg.

Policy reforms introduced by Mayor Bloomberg and his appointed schools chancellor, Joel Klein included:

• Dramatically increasing the number of charter schools; under Bloomberg, New York City saw a dramatic increase in the number of independently-managed charter schools. This was accompanied by the closure of over a hundred schools deemed to be failing.
• Reforms to how teachers are evaluated, controversially grading – and rewarding, or punishing teachers - according to test scores.
• Pushing standardised testing; Bloomberg has supported groups in favour of Common Core State Standards.
• Smaller schools; with a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, New York City created hundreds of small schools (often by breaking up larger schools into smaller units).
• Imposed limits on teacher tenure.

The Bloomberg-led education reforms in New York City sparked protests from residents and teachers unions. They are said to have shown 'mixed results'.

Lobbying for education reform across the US

Michael Bloomberg has sought to export his reforms, trialled in New York, across the U.S. The NY Times reported in December 2013, that he was creating a 'high-powered consulting group', to be called Bloomberg Associates, to help him reshape cities around the world, based on his experience in New York.

Examples of Bloomberg's money influencing education reforms across the US, include:

Idaho

Bloomberg gave $200,000 to Education Voters of Idaho, a nonprofit group championing education reform laws in the state of Idaho, which would have limited collective bargaining rights for teachers, implemented performance related pay, and introduced more technology into teaching and learning. The campaign was unsuccessful, and the laws were repealed by popular demand.

Louisiana

Bloomberg has ploughed money into lobbying for education reform in Louisiana. Bloomberg Philanthropies states:

'The 2011 elections [in Louisiana] represented a rare opportunity to transform Louisiana’s State Board of Education and catalyze efforts to enact impactful education reforms in the state.'

Bloomberg's money:

• Helped create a pro-education reform majority on Louisiana’s Board of Education, by personally supporting candidates running for seats on the Board 'who were dedicated to advancing student outcomes through strong policy.'
• with these reformers, including Stand for Children, 'went on to create and pass teacher quality provisions as part of a comprehensive education reform bill, which includes teacher quality and school choice provisions.'
• ensured that New Orleans continues to progress on nationally significant reforms while complementing Louisiana’s new statewide reforms, by supporting candidates running for seats on the Orleans Parish School Board in November 2012.

Affiliations (education reform)

• Foundation for Excellence in Education, donor to.
• Education Trust, donor to.
• America Achieves, partner to; it runs fellowship programs for educational leaders at all levels.
• Results for America, partner.
• Johns Hopkins University, donor to.
• The Seventy Four
• StudentsFirst
• Education Post

People

• Jeb Bush, former board member; Bush’s focus on the board was education reform.

Contacts

Website: http://www.prometheanworld.com