10 Reasons This is the Decade of Edupreneurs
Here’s 9 reasons that this will be a great decade for edupreneurs. new money foundations focused on new school development a multiplying horde of venture/private equity investors interested in disruptive learning technology a small but growing number of impact funds investing for return and social impact mature engines of social…
Competition, Civil Rights, and Change Theory
Civil rights advocates are split on the competitive nature of $10 billion in grant programs from the US Department of Education. Some, like Education Equality Project, view it as an opportunity for states and districts with competent leadership to make important performance-promoting and gap-closing advances. Others, like the…
What I'm hearing
Here’s a quick overview of where I think the Department of Education is headed and a couple of the themes you’ll hear about tomorrow. Goals/Focus 1.Best in the world in college completion 2. Top of TIMSS by end of decade 3. Big STEM push…
New School Ecosystems
There are interesting parallels between charter schools in the US and affordable private school in India. Both focus on the urban poor, promote choice, and often develop within an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Whether it’s New Orleans or Hyderabad, there are a dozen accelerants that promote access and quality: 1. Incubation…
Emerging Vision for Learning Platforms
There are a handful of conversations swirling around about next generation learning platforms that will combine adaptive/personalized content, assessment, learning communities, with aligned student, teacher, and school services. The ones that gain wide usage will combine open and proprietary content (e.g., basic and premium cable) with a open app platform…
India's Edu-challenge has Global Consequences
“If 250 million kids get left behind, it’s a liability for India and the world” Sandeep Aneja runs Kaizen, an Indian education investment fund. He warns of widespread unrest, an increase in terrorism, and a massive loss of development potential if half of India’s youth don’t gain access to quality…
Affordable Private School in India
There’s an emerging ecosystem of low cost (some would say ‘affordable’) private schools in India. The definition is fuzzy but generally less than 600 rupees with many targeting 200 rupees for primary and 300 rupees in 10th grade. In urban areas it’s common for more than 60% of students to…
Educational Dilemma: Rigor v Relevance
We argue about testing in the US, but the focus on and stakes related to testing is much higher in China and India where the tip of the human funnel is the 12th grade exam; to a large life options hang in the balance. In the US, there are lots…
Social Venture Capital Transforming India
EdReformer reporting from Hyderabad, India After serving as chief strategist for Revolution Living (the Steve Case company, no affiliation of Revolution Learning) and Patagonia, Vishal Vasishth returned to India to create an investment house that was a mixture of Goldman Sachs talent and Patagonia values. Song…
Long Travel Day to India
After 6, 7, and 8 hour flights, we’re in Hyderabad with full schedule of microfinance and education meetings and field trips planned for the next 10 days. I’ve been through five security screenings in the last 30 hours. Obvious increase in security for international flights.