Dive Brief:

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funneled billions into K-12 education overhauls and higher education, and Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post examined the organization's most significant education grants of the year to find out what is at the top of its agenda these days.  
• Strauss found millions being spent to facilitate better "cooperation" between charter and traditional public schools, as well as half a million being spent to improve public knowledge of the Common Core.  
• Notably, the amount spent on the Common Core was lower than in previous years.

Dive Insight:

According to Strauss, last year Gates spent $150 million on the Common Core, compared to $500,000 this year. This discrepancy may indicate some changes in either Bill Gates' thinking or, at the very least, how public opinion of the Common Core can ultimately affect philanthropic giving if vocal enough. The Common Core has received much flack this year, so one might expect one of its most ardent supporters to be spending even more on it these days.  

The Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropies in the world and has been able to shape efforts to overhaul education for years through its funding or defunding of programs. Due to the power billionaires have over the public agenda these days, some have claimed that America is starting to look more like an oligarchy.