The Eli Broad Foundation is giving millions of dollars to Joel Klein to set up the public school reform we are now seeing implemented in our schools. A 2002 "Strategic Planning Retreat" had, as participants, Joel Klein, Diana Lam, and many other people whose names are familiar in the education arena. Did Joel Klein and Diana Lam meet for the first time at this conference? Did they discuss Everyday Math and "Month-by-Month" Phonics?

The list of participants is below, and these are, perhaps, the people who are behind the educational reform we are seeing and will see for years to come.

From the Eli Broad Foundation Website:

Increasingly concerned for the quality of elementary and secondary public education in America, particularly within large urban school districts, Eli Broad and his family established The Broad Foundation in 1999 to focus on K-12 educational issues. The family's initial funding commitment of $100 million was later increased to over $400 million.

From the beginning, The Broad Foundation sought to be different -- in its philosophical insistence on entrepreneurship and innovation, and in its willingness to take financial and political risks to develop a demonstrable track record of success.

Following an initial series of primarily district-level innovation grants, The Foundation took its first unique steps toward the development of a national program. Several of the nation's top education leaders gathered for two strategic planning retreats to refine the principles and operating objectives that would govern The Foundation's approach to public education philanthropy.

The Foundation launched grantmaking activities in large urban districts across the country. It has invested in nontraditional education initiatives and recruited entrepreneurs to revitalize some of our cities' largest school districts. It has challenged the status quo by awarding grants to innovative leaders offering unconventional solutions to governance, management and labor issues. And it has begun the important job of showcasing success wherever it is found, fostering a network of best practices among urban school districts.

In 2002, The Foundation convened a third strategic planning retreat. A distinguished group of leaders in public education assembled to discuss the launch of several initiatives incubated at previous retreats and The Foundation's increase in assets to $400 million. The Foundation solicited guidance on how best to scale-up current Foundation investments and develop new high-impact policy initiatives.

Strategic Planning Retreat Participants

Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District
Richard C. Atkinson, President, University of California
Alan Bersin, Superintendent, San Diego City Schools
Dominic Brewer, Director, RAND Education
Dennis Chaconas, Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District
Robert Chase, former President, National Education Association
Rudolph F. Crew, Director, The Stupski Foundation
John Danielson, Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Education
Chester Finn, President, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Patricia Harvey, Superintendent, St. Paul Public Schools
Genethia Hudley Hayes, Board Member, LA Unified School District
David Hornbeck, Founder, Good Schools Pennsylvania
James Hunt, former Governor , State of North Carolina
Nancy Ichinaga, Member, California State Board of Education
Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
Wendy Kopp, President, Teach for America
Robin Kramer, Senior Fellow, California Community Foundation
Diana Lam, Superintendent, Providence Public Schools
Arthur Levine, President, Columbia University Teachers College
Tom Luce, Chairman, National Center for Educational Accountability
Joe Lucente, Board President, CA Network of Educational Charters
Don McAdams, Executive Director, Center for Reform of School Systems
Richard L. McCormick, President, University of Washington
Theodore Mitchell, President, Occidental College
Barry Munitz, President and Chief Executive Officer, J. Paul Getty Trust
Mark Murray, President, Grand Valley State University
Joseph Olchefske, Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools
Ron Ottinger, Board Member, San Diego City Schools
William Ouchi, Professor, The Anderson School at UCLA
Roderick R. Paige, United States Secretary of Education
Tim Quinn, President, Michigan Leadership Institute
Richard Riordan, Former Mayor, City of Los Angeles
Nancy Daly-Riordan, Children's rights activist
Waldemar "Bill" Rojas, Former Superintendent, Dallas Public Schools
Steven Sample, President, University of Southern California
Jay Schenirer, Board Member, Sacramento City Unified School District
Jon Schnur, CEO, New Leaders for New Schools
William Siart, President, ExED LLC
Kim Smith, President, New Schools Venture Fund
Glen Tripp, President, Galileo Educational Services
Adam Urbanski, President, Rochester Teachers Association
Michael Usdan, Senior Advisor, Institute for Educational Leadership
Carolyn Webb de Macias, Senior Associate Provost, USC
Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers
Caprice Young, Board President, Los Angeles Unified School District