Thomas B. Fordham Foundation

Background

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation is a conservative-leaning education policy think tank. The institute says it advances high standards for schools, students, and educators; quality education options for families; and a “culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and excellence.” ²

The foundation contends that closing education achievement gaps relies on raising standards for students, strengthening accountability for educators and school systems, and expanding education options for parents and families. ³

The organization focuses on charter schools and school choice. It also supports testing and accountability measures for schools and focuses on improving the quality of curriculum and instruction, as well as teachers and principals. ¹

The foundation publishes a weekly bulletin called Education Gadfly. ¹

The foundation has an affiliated Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which shares the same office and same leadership. ⁴ The institute also focuses on charter schools, school choice, curriculum improvements, and accountability in Ohio and nationally. The institute has focused on teacher absenteeism problems in schools. It has also pushed for more states to focus on accountability for K-12 schools. ⁵

History

Thelma Fordham Pruett established the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in 1959, named for her late husband, an industrialist in Dayton, Ohio. The foundation initially focused on charitable organizations and educational institutions in the Dayton area. ¹

After Pruett died in 1995, her estate provided the foundation with resources to expand. In 1997, it relaunched with a focus on national education reform and moved its headquarters to Washington, D.C. It became the primary sponsor of the Educational Excellence Network, an umbrella organization of groups that promotes education reform. ^{1 5}

In 2004, the Ohio Department of Education approved the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation as the first nonprofit to be a sponsor of community schools. ⁶

Leadership

Michael J. Petrilli is the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He is a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and is the executive editor of Education Next. Further, he is a distinguished senior fellow for the Education Commission of the States. He is the author of The Diverse Schools Dilemma, editor of Education for Upward Mobility, and co-editor of How to Educate an American. Petrilli helped to create the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. ⁷

Chester E. Finn, Jr., is a distinguished senior fellow and president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Finn is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was Fordham’s president from 1997 to 2014. He also previously worked at the Manhattan Institute, the Edison Project, and the Brookings Institution. He was a professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt University from 1981 until 2002. From 1985 to 1988, he was the assistant secretary for research and improvement and counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. He was previously a special assistant to the governor of Massachusetts; counsel to the U.S. Ambassador to India; and legislative director for Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan (D-NY). ⁸

Victoria McDougald is the chief of staff of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. She works with the American Enterprise Institute in managing Fordham’s Emerging Education Policy Scholar Program. She previously was the research manager for Fordham. Before that, she worked at the Tennessee Department of Education, for Vanderbilt University’s National Center for Scaling Up Effective Schools, and for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ⁸

Amber M. Northern is the senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. She was previously a senior study director at Westat. Northern also is a member of the board of trustees for Somerset Prep, a charter school in Washington, D.C. ⁸

Gary LaBelle is the vice president for finance and operations at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Previously he worked as an auditor specializing in nonprofit organizations, a tax adviser, consultant, and corporate accountant. ⁸

The 15-member board of trustees includes former Secretary of Education in the George W. Bush administration Rod Paige and former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education David P. Driscoll. Petrilli and Finn are also board members. ⁹