He figures out what would work and goes after it. He'd back vouchers, he says, if he thought they could succeed. Charter schools, on the other hand, occupy a golden space in education reform. Considered moderate, they operate on public money but don't have to follow most public-school guidelines. Charter-school teachers must be certified, and their students have to take the Stanford Achievement Test as a means of evaluation, but teachers can run their classrooms as they wish.
Freedom is key.
As a student at Bowdoin College, Hastings tutored other students. He later joined the Peace Corps to teach high school math in Swaziland. Then came his fortune and the chance to really make an impact. Pleasantly unemployed, Hastings began thinking about what he wanted to do with his time and money. Education was it.