Trustee Gives $20M To TC Institute for Private Schools

In the midst of a year marked by scandal, Teachers College received a major pick-me-up on Feb. 28 with trustee John Klingenstein’s gift of $20 million—the largest single donation ever given to TC— to the institution’s Klingenstein Center, which is devoted to the advancement of private schools. While the boon to private education may seem odd at a time when many indicators suggest that public schools are in crisis, the center’s advocates are only too happy to explain its importance.

Few contest the fact that the nation’s public schools are in need of help—in November 2007, the New York Times reported that 50 New York City public schools were failing, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the 29,000 students enrolled in them would be allowed to transfer elsewhere. But Teachers College officials continue to emphasize the importance of developing and strengthening leadership among private school teachers and administrators.

Klingenstein Foundation chair and professor Pearl Kane characterized independent institutions as necessary alternatives to public education.
“Private schools have always been a part of the configuration of education in the American system, offering another option for parents,” Kane said. She described them as places of refuge for students who “feel alienated from the public schools,” pointing to the many Catholic schools that arose because public schools were at one time largely run from a Protestant foundation. Students, she claimed, “seek private education because they are not being served, or because they have certain values that they want to be reinforced.”

The Klingenstein Center has five major educational programs, which admit educators at different stages in their careers. One, the Klingenstein Summer Institute for Early Career Teachers admits newer teachers and assists them in developing innovative teaching methods and understanding educational philosophies. Another, the Master’s Degree Program for Independent School Leadership, helps educators with at least three years of experience reach their potential as leaders.

A large portion of the Klingenstein endowment, Kane also noted, will be allocated as scholarship money.

Jackie Bundock