New America Foundation

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The New America Foundation is a Washington D.C.-headquartered think tank which states that it "invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States ... With an emphasis on big ideas, impartial analysis and pragmatic solutions, New America invests in outstanding individuals whose ability to communicate to wide and influential audiences can change the country's policy discourse in critical areas, bringing promising new ideas and debates to the fore."[1]

New America Foundation-logo250px.jpg

The foundation, which was launched in 1999, has as its CEO Steve Coll, a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine while the chairman of the Board of Directors is the Chairman & CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt.[1]

Ties to Peter G. Peterson

The New America Foundation receives funding from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.[2]

2014 Policy Brief Insisting that Colleges Align with the Common Core

In July 2014, the New America Foundation released a policy brief recommending that, rather than primary and secondary school education aiming to prepare students for post-secondary education, higher education providers should change their teaching methods in order to accommodate Common Core State Standards. The report, titled "Common Core Goes to College: Building Better Connections Between High School and Higher Education," suggests that "the widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and assessments presents a new opportunity to bridge the gap between high school and higher education."[3] The report argues "that states' new college- and career-ready assessments should, at the very least, provide an additional avenue for students to meet minimum college eligibility requirements, qualify for state financial aid, and place into the assortment of first-year credit-bearing coursework offered by institutions."[3]

The report concludes by providing recommendations to higher education institutions in order to align teaching methods, teacher preparation, financial aid dissemination, and course placement decisions with Common Core standards. Recommendations include that:[3]

  • Institutions with minimum standards for admission should amend those standards to include college- and career-ready assessment cut scores.
  • Institutions offering developmental coursework should base this instruction upon their state's college- and career-ready standards, and determine the success of those programs using the state's high school assessments
  • For those states which continue to award financial aid on the basis of demonstrated academic merit, amend any criteria relating to assessment scores to include those from the state's high school college- and career-ready assessments.

The report was funded by grants from:[3]

Funders

As of January 2013, New America Foundation's top donors included:[4]

$1,000,000+

$250,000-$999,999

Funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

New America has received at least $6,530,002 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from "2009 and earlier" through 2013:[5]

2013

  • 740,000 for global policy and advocacy
  • $200,002 grant from the Gates Foundation in order "to conduct research on the effectiveness and utility of exit exams and develop and distribute policy options for states as they develop their Common Core assessment systems."[6]

2012

  • $1,450,000 for postsecondary success
  • $110,000 for postsecondary success

2011

  • $530,000 for postsecondary success

2010

  • $1,300,000 for global policy and advocacy

2009 and earlier

  • $450,000 for global policy and advocacy
  • $1,500,000 for global policy and advocacy
  • $250,000 for global policy and advocacy

Personnel

Board of Directors

As of January 2013:[7]

Staff

As of January 2013:[8]

Senior Staff

Leadership Council

According to the organization, "New America's Leadership Council, chaired by John C. Whitehead, recognizes those individuals who contribute $25,000 or more to the Foundation each year. As members of the Leadership Council, they participate in the intellectual life of the Foundation in numerous ways. For instance, they are invited to attend a special annual retreat with New America senior staff, Fellows and Board of Directors, as well as a series of salon dinners across the country."[8]

Fellows

Contact Information

The New America Foundation
1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 986-2700
Fax: (202) 986-3696
Website: www.newamerica.net

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

External Articles

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 New America Foundation, "About New America", New America Foundation website, accessed February 2009.
  2. "Our Funding", The New America Foundation., Accessed January 21, 2013.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lindsay Tepe, New America Foundation, Common Core Goes to College, organizational website, July 21, 2014.
  4. New America Foundation, Our Funding, organizational website, accessed January 21, 2013.
  5. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Awarded Grants, organizational website, accessed July 22, 2014.
  6. Gates Foundation, New America Foundation, organizational website, accessed July 23, 2014.
  7. New America Foundation, Board of Directors, organizational website, accessed January 21, 2013.
  8. 8.0 8.1 New America Foundation, New America Staff, organizational website, accessed January 21, 2013.
  9. New America Foundation, "Parag Khanna," Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  10. Parag Khanna, "Waving Goodbye to Hegemony," New York Times Magazine, January 27, 2008.