Bill and Melinda Gates Visit, Praise Tennessee on Education Reform

Bill and Melinda Gates paid a visit to Nashville today. The billionaire philanthropists were in town to talk with Governor Phil Bredesen and Governor-elect Bill Haslam about education.

The Gates Foundation awarded $90 million to Memphis City Schools almost a year ago to improve teacher quality.

Melinda Gates told reporters they’re visiting now to see the “bold reforms” enacted under Bredesen and the legislature. The state is poised to tie student achievement to teacher evaluations, and this spring won half a billion federal Race to the Top dollars to try new approaches in the classroom.

Left to right: Governor-elect Bill Haslam, Gov. Phil Bredesen, Bill and Melinda Gates

And Bill Gates praised the state’s willingness to try new things:

“This idea of measuring teachers is very important because a teacher wants to know what they could do better; they want to know if there’s other teachers who are particularly good in a specific area and be able to see them online or sit down and talk with them.”

And Gates says he wants data to drive teacher evaluations nationwide, though he says doing that could take another decade.

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Bredesen called the last year a “pivot point” for education in Tennessee. He cited the Gates’ $90 million grant to recruit new principals and teachers in Memphis, and use classroom video to study effective teaching methods.

Between that and the Race to the Top dollars pouring in, Bredesen says the state now has a clear plan on education – one he hopes will carry through the next administration.

Melinda Gates echoed that message to Haslam:

“For governor-elect, it’s really ‘Continue the course,’ and there will be tweaks to make along the way; there are going to be some hard times ahead, as you try to make sure you get an effective teacher in every classroom. It’s going to take some political will to do that with the parents and the teachers, but I think he’s very committed and we’re excited to be here, and will continue to work with whatever administration is here working in Tennessee.”

For his part, Haslam said he’s excited by the momentum around education reform, and will maintain it going forward.

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Gates says countries with educational systems outperforming the United States academically all have three things in common:
— Students spend more time in school.
— Schools in different areas share the same curricula, or “common core,” meaning a student moving cross-country can arrive in a classroom studying the same material as the old one.
— Teachers get lots of feedback about their strengths and weaknesses.

RAW AUDIO
You can hear full audio of the press conference with Bill and Melinda Gates, Gov. Bredesen and Governor-elect Haslam below:

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