Getting The New Gates Teaching Initiative

The major papers each add a bit of key information about the just-announced Gates teaching initiative:

Mini RTTT:  Federal officials are pushing in much the same direction with a $4.35 billion school-reform grant competition that stresses teacher effectiveness, tied to student achievement. (Gates Foundation gives $335 million for teacher effectiveness Washington Post)

OMAHA NO THANKS:  A fifth district was in line to join the others, but Omaha Public Schools dropped out at the last minute after decided it could not meet the matching requirement of the grant during these tough economic times. (Schools get $335 million to boost teaching MSNBC)

TRYING AGAIN: "It's not that small high schools did not work ... but we went straight to what works." The foundation, [Phillips] said, wants to "focus on the thing that absolutely matters the most, which is the teacher." ($335 million in education grants Seattle Times)

SIDE STUDY: A separate $45 million research initiative will study 3,700 classroom teachers in six cities, including New York, seeking to answer the question that has puzzled investigators for decades: What, exactly, makes a good teacher effective? (Gateses Give $290 Million for Education NYT)