Those compacts, which were first introduced in 2010, are signed by representatives from district schools, charter schools and communities, according to a press release from the foundation, all of whom pledge to share best practices and resources for education. The funding is intended to help cities expand their existing collaborations and invest in facilities at high-performing schools.
A total of 14 cities have signed compacts, according to the foundation, after Chicago and Spring Beach, Texas, announced their compacts Tuesday. Other participating cities include: Baltimore; Boston; Central Falls, R.I.; Denver; Hartford, Conn.; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York City; Rochester, N.Y.; and Sacramento, Calif. The foundation also expects more cities to announce their agreements in the coming weeks.
When cities sign the compacts, they commit to replicating high-performing education models from both public and charter schools, according to the foundation, and to improving or closing schools that do not perform as well. They also focus on measuring effective teaching, implementing the Common Core standards and improving the use of student data.
The Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, which receives some funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will release annual reports on the progress being made by the participating cities, according to the foundation.
