Click here for more information about the program.

The Urban Education Study Tour was a unique learning opportunity designed for experienced grantmakers who are currently funding K-12 education reform efforts in urban districts, seeking to learn from other cities engaged in similar initiatives and interested in sharing and exploring new ideas, information and experiences with colleagues to take their work to the next level.

The study tour was organized as a series of three 1-1/2 day gatherings in 2008—one in each of the three participating cities—that included conversations with local education leaders and grantmakers. Through dialogue with key players involved with the work, participants analyzed each district's reform strategies and the ways that education grantmakers are engaging in the reform process, while comparing and contrasting lessons from related strategies led by grantmakers working in other cities. Study tour participants were expected to attend all three gatherings, and to help to organize the gathering in their city.

The study tour included groups of up to 10 funders from each of the three host cities (Baltimore, Boston and Pittsburgh), as well as up to 10 experienced urban K-12 grantmakers from other cities across the country. Total registration was limited to 40 participants to enhance discussion opportunities and provide continuity across the meetings.

This project was designed to strengthen participant's efforts to improve urban school systems by:

• Providing an in-depth comparative analysis of the significant reform strategies, challenges and successes as they vary across the three cities.
• Generating a deeper understanding of the roles that grantmakers can play to effectively advance education reform.
• Highlighting different models for how groups of funders work together to advance reform in their community.
• Offering participants the chance for peer feedback and advice on their local efforts, while also exposing them to different approaches from other cities.

To create an effective peer learning experience, we assembled a group of funders that provided a rich mix of experiences and perspectives to contribute to one another's learning.

The three cities were chosen because they offered valuable learning opportunities about how philanthropy can engage with districts in education reform, and because they were roughly comparable in student and district characteristics. Click here to read a brief profile of each participating district.