Vicki and Ed

There are two new names in the education wing of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In case you missed it, they've hired Portland Public Schools Chief Vicki Phillips as its new director of U.S. education programs. According to the press release, Phillips will "complete the school year in Portland and begin work at the foundation August 1, overseeing and expanding upon more than $3.4 billion in strategic education investments and partnerships."

Then there's this Ed guy -- although in searching their Web site, I see Ed's not really a guy. It's a campaign. The "Ed in '08" campaign is an effort to make public education a major policy focus of the 2008 presidential election. According to the site, B&MGF is partnering with the Eli and Edyth Broad Foundation to put $60 million toward the "Strong American Schools" effort...