Over the past several months, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on what this moment means for our work — and why it feels different.
Two things are true at once. The Gates Foundation now has a defined end date: we will accelerate our spending and impact and close by 2045. That gives our work a new sense of urgency and focus. Every dollar, every partnership, every bet we make needs to count.
At the same time, we are living through a period of genuine technological transformation. AI is changing what's possible in education in ways that weren't imaginable even a few years ago.
Those two realities together — a finite window and an expanding set of tools — are what's shaping how I'm thinking about our U.S. Program work.
This is an extraordinary opportunity – and a unique challenge. We have a chance to be bolder, more focused, and to ensure that every dollar spent moves us meaningfully closer to better outcomes for students.
AI, in particular, presents a significant opportunity in education—not as a replacement for teachers, but as a powerful tool to help teachers teach and help students learn, and provide experiences and supports that enable students to pursue their goals.
The question is not whether innovation will shape education. It already is. The question is how we harness it intentionally in service of learning and in support of teachers, and how we make progress and opportunity possible for every student, not a select few.
I’m a firm believer that education changes lives because it changed mine. I know firsthand how much a student’s opportunities can depend on where they grow up.
I’ve seen this most clearly when visiting schools just a few miles apart—one where students have access to supportive teachers, advanced coursework, counselors who know them by name, and clear pathways to college and careers, and another where equally talented students are doing everything right but still face crowded classrooms, limited options, and far fewer chances to get ahead.
Education remains one of the strongest equalizers for economic opportunity we have when it’s built inclusively, incorporating the voices of students, families, and educators, and when designed to ensure that opportunity isn’t determined by zip code. It’s also an area where progress is most urgently needed – and we have both the tools and the responsibility to accelerate that progress.
That mandate feels even stronger today, especially paired with Bill Gates’ historic commitment to solving some of the world’s toughest challenges, alongside a clear expectation that we act with urgency, focus, and ambition.
At the Gates Foundation, our commitment to education is not new. For more than two decades, we’ve partnered with educators, school systems, colleges, and innovators to help more students — especially those facing the greatest barriers — stay on track and earn credentials that open real economic doors.
As our CEO, Mark Suzman, affirmed in his recent Annual Letter, that commitment will continue for the duration of the foundation. What this moment calls for is not a change in direction, but a sharper sense of where we’re going and how we’ll measure success along the way.
Being clear about the future we’re working toward
Over the next 20 years, we believe education must become a more reliable engine of opportunity — with systems that meet learners where they are, support them at key transition points, and recognize skills in ways that expand economic mobility.
New technologies, including advances in artificial intelligence (AI), have the potential to support that vision—but only if they are developed and used responsibly. AI has presented an opportunity to support learning in ways that were simply not possible before, as well as the chance to accelerate innovation at the same pace we need students to catch up and thrive.
However, AI is not a solution on its own, and it is not neutral by default. Its use in education must be grounded in evidence, guided by educators, and designed with student safety, privacy, and well-being at the center.
For us, that means investing in tech-enabled tools that complement and extend—not replace—human relationships, and that help educators respond to student needs with better, faster information.
For example, the average ratio of students-to-counselors in public high schools is 376:1, far higher than the recommended 250:1. We believe AI-enabled advising tools can help address impossible counselor workloads and ensure students can access the information they need to help map out their options for education after high school.
We agree with educators and researchers who say that AI use must protect student privacy, preserve critical thinking and social learning opportunities, and keep teachers central to learning in the classroom. It also means being clear-eyed about risks, setting guardrails, and learning alongside partners as this technology evolves, as well as being responsive to the concerns parents have around what’s best for their child’s development.
Sharpening focus to maximize impact
Over the past several months, our team has been working to clarify a U.S. education strategy that builds on what we already know works—while being more explicit about the outcomes we’re aiming to achieve. This effort has been about alignment and focus, not reinvention. We are doubling down on our core strategies and focusing on the student milestones that matter most for long-term success.
Those milestones include ensuring more students pass Algebra I by ninth grade, navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary, complete critical gateway college courses, and earn credentials that carry real value in the labor market. Decades of research show that when students reach these points, their chances of long-term economic mobility increase dramatically.
Our goal is to concentrate our efforts where we can unlock progress at these pivotal moments—working alongside partners who are closest to students and educators, and who bring deep expertise to the table.
A glimpse of what’s possible
I recently visited a school in Newark where I met a young man whose experience has stayed with me. Like many students, he had struggled in math and was at risk of falling further behind. But with steady support from teachers, combined with supplemental access to AI-supported tools—developed by partners like Khan Academy—his pace of learning accelerated. More importantly, his confidence did too.
He talked about seeing new possibilities for himself: college courses he hadn’t considered before, career paths that now felt within reach. That shift didn’t happen because of technology alone. It happened because educators, curriculum, and tools came together in a way that responded to his needs as a learner.
That’s the kind of progress we’re aiming to support more broadly—not isolated success stories, but systems that make this kind of acceleration possible for many more students.
Looking ahead
As we look toward the next two decades, our ambition for our U.S. Program work is grounded in both urgency and humility. We don’t have all the answers. But with clearer goals, stronger evidence, and deep collaboration with educators and communities, we can help systems better serve today’s learners.
In the coming months, we’ll share more details about our U.S. Program goals and how we’ll track progress toward them. This moment calls for ambition matched with accountability, and for a shared commitment to ensuring every student has a real chance to thrive.
That’s the direction we’re heading. And we’re grateful to be on this path alongside so many dedicated partners.