The Education Program makes grants to improve education in California and around the world.

Every learner – from the struggling third grader in East Palo Alto to the ambitious university student in sub-Saharan Africa – deserves a high-quality education. This simple but profound conviction drives the Hewlett Foundation as it makes grants to improve education in California and around the world.

Improve education for California students. In California, the problems are complex. The state's public schools rank near the bottom nationally in test scores and graduation rates, and those students who do graduate high school often enter college unprepared. The Education Program works to combat these problems and improve public education in the state by focusing on the students who face the greatest barriers to academic achievement: those attending California's public K-12 schools and its community colleges – an essential, though chronically underfunded, component of the education system.

Equalize educational opportunities through Open Educational Resources. The Hewlett Foundation works with grantees to improve education globally by making high-quality academic materials available for free on the Internet. This growing movement – known as Open Educational Resources – gives people everywhere the ability to easily use and share online content and tools for teaching, learning, and research.

Raise educational achievement in disadvantaged Bay Area communities. Students in low-income urban areas are at a particular disadvantage. In addition to funding projects focused on improving student success statewide, the Program makes a limited number of grants to San Francisco Bay Area organizations in such areas to try experiments most likely to improve student achievement.

The Education Program also works with the Performing Arts Program on ensuring quality Arts Education in the schools. The Foundation's Global Development Program also works on improving the quality of education in developing countries.