Hewlett Foundation staff has recently been weighing in on some important issues, including international trade, arts education, the collection of student data by the California Department of Education, and the implications for the field of philanthropy of Warren Buffett’s gift to the Gates Foundation. The following are excerpts from articles that appeared in the New York Times, the Sacramento Bee, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
“By not showing more altruistic leadership in the [Doha Development Round of] trade talks, the United States and Europe are in serious danger of missing the chance to lead the world closer to a rules-based global system of markets, trade and finance built on the democratic norms and values both continents profess to support. But making the trade deal truly benefit the world's poorest is not simply an act of charity or a public relations gesture. The extra increase in market potential could also enable the poorest countries to attract more investment in roads, ports and training, helping their businesses to grow and opening more opportunities for American and European companies.”
Ann Tutwiler, Global Development Program Officer and Managing Director for Trade and Development, and Susan Sechler, German Marshall Fund, “Trading Up,” New York Times, 26 June 2006.
http://www.hewlett.org/Programs/GlobalAffairs/News/New+York+Times+Global+Trade+Op-Ed.html
"Collecting basic information about school and student performance is an investment that will improve our schools and ensure that our children are well-educated. Although the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger deserve credit for producing an on-time budget agreement this year, a small but essential part of a program that would have helped the state collect more extensive and more accurate data on everything from high school graduation rates to student achievement over time got left out. By not fully funding the state’s performance data infrastructure, we lose the ability to efficiently allocate every dollar of the state’s education budget.”
Education Program Director Mike Smith and Program Officer Kristi Kimball, “State Hurting Education By Not Funding Data Collection,” San Jose Mercury News, 5 July 2006.
http://www.hewlett.org/Programs/Education/CA+Reform/State+hurting+education+by+not+funding+data+collection.htm
"Should the decision of Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest men, mean anything to the donors who plan to create private foundations with much smaller assets? It depends on what they want to achieve. If your only goal is community recognition, then you can be as good a philanthropist as anyone else. But if you want to actually make a difference in the world, the work is incredibly challenging. The history of efforts to improve people's lives—from reducing drug addiction and high school drop-out rates, to protecting ecosystems, to ameliorating global disease and poverty—demonstrates that the best intentions make little difference without the expertise to carry them out.”
Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest, “What Philanthropists Can Learn from Warren Buffett,” Chronicle of Philanthropy, 17 July 2006.
“This new investment [in arts education] is just a first step. Districts have an obligation to spend this new money wisely, so taxpayers and students see the results. Elected officials in Sacramento and education leaders should commit to making the arts an integral part of education, supported with general education funding, rather than allowing them to be taught only when special funds are earmarked. Credentialed teachers in music, dance, theatre and the visual arts must be hired to teach a sequential curriculum of the arts in grades K through 12 with appropriate assessments of student progress along the way. When it comes to arts education, California’s kids have done without for too long.”
Performing Arts Program Director Moy Eng and Education Program Director Mike Smith, “Encore for the Arts in California Schools,” Sacramento Bee, 10 September 2006.
http://www.sacbee.com/325/story/20487.html