The Gates Foundation's $100 million challenge

Here in Hillsborough County our school district is entering into a bold, long-term partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop new ways to improve teaching. Our ultimate goal is to dramatically increase student achievement, raise graduation rates and ensure college and career readiness. The way to do that is to ensure that our teachers are adept, inspired and have the support they need.

We are one of three school districts and a coalition of charter schools to emerge from an intense national competition for the opportunity to partner with the Gates foundation. Weeks ago, when Melinda Gates announced that Hillsborough had been awarded a $100 million grant over seven years, there was a brief celebration as congratulations poured in from around the state and nation. That celebration was tempered by this reality: This is not a gift or reward but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and an awesome responsibility.

Hillsborough County is a perfect fit for this project. Our school board and teachers union are committed to improving the way teachers are hired, evaluated, supported and compensated. We see room for improvement in all those areas.

During visits to our district, officials with the Gates foundation noted that our district's spirit of cooperation and commitment to change in support of student success are some of our greatest strengths. Sadly, it appears that true collaboration and a shared sense of purpose between school districts and teachers unions is rare.

Our goals are ambitious. Relying on input from teachers and principals, and guided by careful research, we intend to develop "game changing" systems that will become national models. We welcome the challenge because the task before us is timely, exciting and absolutely necessary.

The goal of improving teacher quality across the board is not new. If it were simple, it would have been accomplished long ago. We have no choice but to shake up the status quo and defy the conventional wisdom, and that is never easy.

The investment by the Gates foundation is impressive. We applaud the foundation's commitment to improving educational opportunities for all children, and we believe its investment is commensurate with the task ahead. During a time of budget cuts, the foundation is investing in the future. It is providing significant funding to us, not to plug holes in the budget but to enable us to accomplish specific ambitious tasks.

Bill and Melinda Gates have referred to themselves as "impatient optimists." They believe that if they go about things in the right way and provide the necessary support, they can help effect positive change. And they want that positive change to occur now. We are happy to partner with the foundation to make that positive change a reality, and we share the sense of urgency.

The stakes could not be higher. If our nation is to continue to lead and inspire the world, we must renew our commitment to education, innovation and hard work.

Those of you old enough to remember Sputnik and "A Nation at Risk" know that our nation has had occasional wake-up calls that have forced us to think differently about how we educate our children. This is one of those defining moments.

Today, more than ever, we are aware that public education has limited resources but also unlimited potential. That potential can be found in our students and teachers.

And, as impatient optimists ourselves, we believe now is the time to make the most of that potential.