Gates Praises Charter Schools

In his first “annual letter” discussing the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, founder Bill Gates had nice things to say about charter schools such as the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools (subscription).

At the same time, Gates openly admitted the foundation's smaller high school program didn’t work out. Gates said, “We had less success trying to change an existing school than helping to create a new school.”

Gates also said states should revise their laws that put caps on the number of charter schools. In Kentucky’s case, that cap is absolute – we don’t even allow these excellent school choices.