In December 1993 at the White House, Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg announced his $500 million "Challenge to the Nation". It grew to a $1.1 billion effort and became the largest public/private partnership ever to improve public education.

The Challenge revived and inspired school reform throughout the nation. It set three goals:

·        To improve education in inner-city schools

·        To bring long overdue assistance to isolated rural schools

·        To demonstrate that arts should be a basic part of every child's education

The Challenge launched 18 school improvement projects around the country. After nine years, the Challenge reached 1.5 million children and 80,000 teachers in 2,400 cities in 35 states.

The Annenberg Challenge continues its support by providing funding for Waltrip to form smaller learning communities for the 2004-2005 school year.