high-tech-high

Bill Gates recommends high school day after it closes

Chris Mohney ยท 02/26/07 10:20AM

In Bill Gates's rah-rah innovation editorial in the weekend Washington Post, he mentions his admiration for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-backed High Tech High, a network of tech-enabled charter schools. Poor timing perhaps, as Friday marked the abrupt closure of High Tech High Bayshore, overriding the literal tears and rage of students' parents. Apparently the school was losing money ($500,000 per year) and had barely half-met its goal for student recruitment. More importantly, the school building's owner โ€” an anonymous "philanthropist affiliated with the High Tech High corporation" โ€” decided to unload the building after the school couldn't afford to buy it back. Hey, at least those kids got part of a kind of good education. If you know the identity of the mystery philanthropist, by all means tip us off.