The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation yesterday awarded $290 million in teacher-effectiveness grants to schools in Pittsburgh and three other cities, saying the bold initiatives they've proposed have the chance to shape the future of teaching in America.

The grants are from a pool of $500 million the foundation created for teacher-effectiveness programs -- the philanthropy's new educational focus. News of the grants already had been widely disseminated by the time the foundation made the formal announcement.

Pittsburgh Public Schools will get $40 million, accepted by the school board at a special meeting Wednesday. Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida will get $100 million, Memphis City Schools in Tennessee will get $90 million and a consortium of about 85 Los Angeles charter schools will get $60 million.

The foundation is operated by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda. In a conference call, Mrs. Gates said the grant recipients' plans "have the potential to serve as national models for boosting teacher effectiveness."

From the Northeast to the South to the West Coast, the recipients represent the spectrum of education in America. But all share a commitment to change and an understanding that traditional measures of teacher competence, such as certification and education level, actually have little link to student achievement, the foundation said.

The grant recipients' plans range from new salary structures -- such as performance pay -- to new methods of recruiting and retaining teachers.

It is critical work because teachers are more important to student achievement "than any other factor in a school building. This is something we know absolutely, for certain, at this point," Mrs. Gates said.

Because the Pittsburgh district's plan will cost more than $85 million in all, officials will have to complement the Gates Foundation grant with $45 million raised from public and other private sources and from internal operating efficiencies. The Pittsburgh Foundation will act as fiscal agent for the Gates grant, disbursing money to the district and monitoring its use.

The district, which developed its plan in partnership with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, will launch its program with a Dec. 14 reception for employees and community leaders at the Carnegie Museums in Oakland. The Gates Foundation awarded the district an extra $60,000 to pay for the event.

Also yesterday, the foundation announced a separate research project on teacher effectiveness that will cost $45 million and include several districts. Pittsburgh will receive about $350,000 to participate in the project.

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