How Can We Optimize Innovation?

Lucy Friedman recommends Stanley L. Litow's commentary in today's Education Week, in which the president of the IBM Foundation calls for schools, community organizations and corporations to collaborate to achieve lasting progress through federal spending on education innovation. One intriguing idea is to redirect billions of dollars from administration to math-science teaching or after-school science opportunities by creating service centers to handle functions each school district now handles separately, such as payroll. Mr. Litow, a member of the TASC Board of Directors, writes, "If technology were used to create shared services centers by state, or even regionally, as much as $5 billion could be saved, some believe."

• To read the commentary (by subscription only), go to the Education Week Web site