Netflix founder Reed Hastings has announced a $100 million commitment to education through his creation of the Hastings Fund, and much of it is likely to go to the support of charter schools, blended learning. 

Hastings, like many other big names in education philanthropy, is a proponent of charter schools and blended learning, according to The Washington Post.

"The groups he has supported reads like a Who’s Who of the brand of education reform that favors online learning and charter schools over traditional schools: According to the publication Education Next, his money helped start the NewSchools Venture Fund, a major funder of charter schools and ed tech start-ups, and Aspire Public schools, a charter school network,” the Post said.

"He’s also supported Rocketship Education, which combines online and face-to-face learning, and the Khan Academy, which creates online teaching videos used in schools nationwide. He has also served on the board of the California Charter Schools Association, the KIPP Foundation and ed tech company DreamBox Learning, according to Education Next.”

Hastings is the second big name in education to announce a large financial commitment to education this month.

Earlier this month, the Walton Family Foundation announced it would spending $1 billion in the next five years on growing new charter schools, maintaining existing ones and supporting more research into the subject.

The Walton Family Foundation is just one of the many big names that support charter schools, and have done so in a big way.

"About a quarter of charter schools nationwide have received start-up grants from Walton. Last year alone, the foundation supported 100 new charter school startups with more than $20 million in grants—or one in five of all new charter schools that opened in 2015,” said InsidePhilanthropy.com. 

Other famous billionaires have similarly jumped on the bandwagon in support, most notably Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates.

Read the full story.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

1/15/2016