Community organizing in a post school district world
“What will happen when school districts go bankrupt or are taken over by the state?” a community organizer asked. He was contemplating future scenarios with combinations of increasing charter school market share, decreasing state and local financial support, and persistent academic failure. Paul Hill has spent more than 15…
Mission scaling
It’s tough for non-profit organizations to find scaling capital—especially now. Donations come and go. Foundations provide restricted grants for pet projects. Even with a strong sustainable business plan, it’s hard to find unrestricted grants to grow. That’s why I’m encouraged by a new generation of non-profit venture and growth…
Turning the textbook world upside down
Flatworld, a start up company that just raised $8 million, is launching a free line of college textbooks. Like Wireless Generation, which distributes www.FreeReading.net, they make money by selling related services. For the last 15 years, textbook publishers have given away CDs and digital assets to sell textbooks.
Learning outside of the classroom—culture and context will drive spiky use
TeachStreet is one of the latest entrants in informal peer-to-peer learning space. See interview with CEO Dave Shappell on The Deal. There was lots of conversation about P2P learning at the Union Square’s recent Hacking Education conference. Universities see this coming and are tripping over themselves…
In favor of risk
Risk capital made this country great—that and an amazing foundation of founding principles. But we’re getting ready to send risk capital overseas. The uniquely American combination of market capitalism, extraordinary universities, and risk capital—specifically venture capital and growth equity—are the engine behind a century of remarkable…
6 EdTech trends that will affect education
eSchool News reports on the six technologies soon to affect education – One year or less: collaborative environments and online communication tools – Two to three years: mobile devices and cloud computing – Four to five years: smart objects and the personal web…
Learning online tidbits
1. “Students say there should be more use of mobile devices in their learning.” This blinding flash of the obvious is from a recent Speak Up survey. So why is it that nearly all kids in the developed world have mobile devices and we don’t use them…
A new kind of B school: Kauffman shows the way
The Kauffman Foundation is clearly the most entrepreneurial philanthropy. Their deep understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship to job creation and economic vitality is, unfortunately, unique in philanthropy and public policy. High Tech High, San Diego, is my favorite school because it encourages kids to…
Tech augmented teacher supply
Here’s the intro to an AEI discussion on teacher supply next week; it’s a good summary of the challenge: Today’s most successful K–12 schools have a voracious appetite for talent. Indeed, successful charter school networks—like KIPP and Achievement First—are perhaps most notable for their ability to create a “no excuses”…
10 Notable CMOs
Following are 10 notable education leaders and their charter management organizations: 1. Larry Rosenstock, High Tech High: the best example of applied and integrated learning I’ve seen. 2. Dacia Toll, Achievement First: the best operator in the business—it’s the relentless pursuit for excellence through execution that…