Strengthening Human Capital in Schools

Throughout its history, Carnegie Corporation has sought to promote and preserve a robust American democracy by supporting expanded opportunity through education. A critical component of Carnegie Corporation’s focus on creating pathways to educational and economic opportunity is its support for the development and implementation of systems that allow schools to recruit and develop qualified candidates for teaching and leadership roles, place them intelligently and equitably in the right positions, cultivate their skills and sustain their commitment over time, and monitor and manage their performance with relevant metrics. This strategy is born from a recognition that high-quality teachers and leaders are essential to increasing student achievement and educational opportunity across all schools and school systems. However, research shows that urban and high-poverty schools are far less likely than their suburban and higher-income counterparts to have quality teachers. To ensure that a child, especially a child in a low-performing school, will get a high performing teacher throughout his or her school years demands a coordinated effort by federal, state and local governments, as well as the community, parents and private education funders to strategically recruit and prepare, develop and manage teachers and principals. To address these issues, the Corporation is providing support for a number of efforts aimed at strengthening and deepening the human capital of schools, particularly the lowest performing institutions, including recruitment of highly qualified individuals with strong academic preparation in their subject area; preparation, professional development and ongoing assessment and evaluation of teachers and leaders; and retention of high-performing teachers and leaders.  See our web page on human capital.