x IN 1993, FORMER AMBASSADOR WALTER ANNENBERG gave a $500 million gift to the nation's public schools, which was billed as an "unprecedented challenge to an American public increasingly vocal about the need for school improvement." His gift called upon communities to "take the necessary tough political steps" to fulfill America's democratic obligation to educate all children well.

What is known about how much good these dollars do? The Fordham Foundation, authors of Can Philanthropy Fix Our Schools?, answers that question by taking a look at what happened in New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia with regard to Annenberg's $500 Million Gift to Public Education. What they found is that Walter Annenberg didn't accomplish what he had hoped. While students in some schools surely benefited from this unprecedented private generosity, the system as a whole was largely unresponsive.

	LAEP to Study Teacher Quality in Los Angeles The Los Angeles Educational Partnership has received a $55,000 grant from the Public Education Network to form a local research collaborative to examine the effects of teacher quality on student achievement.

	Money Matters LAEP has published Money Matters -- an easy-to-understand guide to the budget of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Click here to download in PDF format.(Download Acrobat Reader, if necessary.)

	Elizabeth Strives for Nurturing Atmosphere A critical part of creating a kinder, gentler school is picking the right people, says Emilio Vasquez, principal at Elizabeth Learning Center—a successful Urban Learning Center.

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