WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Six leading foundations joined Monday in a $42 million initiative to overhaul U.S. high schools.
The grants, announced during the National Governors Association conference in Washington, are designed to lower the dropout rate and boost skills students will need to obtain jobs or get into college.
According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the six foundations will provide $23 million, to be matched by state governments, for the development of plans for various reforms in graduation requirements, teacher training and data collection.
The grants will be administered by the NGA's Center for Best Practices and were provided by the Gates Foundation; the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; the Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Wallace Foundation; The Prudential Foundation and the State Farm Foundation.
