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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University's College of Education has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to work with Employers for Education Excellence (E3) on the Innovation in Oregon High Schools project, an effort that will look at creativity and innovation in the state's high schools through December of 2006.

The research will identify successful high schools that have overcome policy barriers to implement innovative practices within the current legal and regulatory environment. Through case studies of innovative schools and practices, the Innovation in Oregon High Schools project will identify where policy barriers exist, better understand why and help innovation thrive in Oregon schools.

Michael Dalton, professor and assistant to the dean for program and research development at the College of Education, is the principal investigator for this $81,000 research project. The aim is to identify and analyze the legal, regulatory, and policy issues that affect the creation and operation of innovative small high schools and other innovative and effective high school reform strategies in Oregon.

"The project is an exciting opportunity to explore how innovation can happen in schools today," said Sam Stern, Dean of the College of Education.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focuses its support in two areas: helping high schools increase the number of students who graduate from high school prepared for work, higher education, and citizenship and reducing financial barriers to education. The foundation supports high school reform and the creation of small high schools throughout the United States.

E3 brings communities and schools together, with the help of employers, to prepare all Oregon children for success in school, career, and life. Providing tools, resources, and support, it helps communities focus on key academic challenges and engages business and community members in reaching and celebrating common goals.

E3 tailors the work to address each community's specific needs and then uses these communities as models by sharing lessons learned and looking for opportunities for replication. Karen Phillips directs the Oregon Small Schools Initiative, an E3 program supported by the Gates foundation and the Meyer Memorial Trust. She will work with Dalton and the College of Education research team on the project.