EdTech
EdTech
New York State Makes it to First Round
New York State Makes it to First Round New York State is one of 16 first-round finalist for federal funds from Race to the Top, the national competition to re-invigorate American education with US$4.3 bln.
Personalized Learning
A Financial Analyst Follows His Heart
School Administrator ran a great profile of John Welch, superintendent of the Highline School District, a complicated and diverse 5 city school district which surrounds SeaTac airport, near Seattle.  John was a budget analyst in Tacoma, WA when I hired him as Finance Director, then CFO.  John won a national…
Personalized Learning
More Better Accountability; EEP & DFER Show the Way
The Education Equality Project and Democrats For Education Reform issued a report on the accountability provisions within the current NCLB law–a topic people love to hate.  This report is a great reminder of why we need accountability to promote equity and excellence and why strong accountability must be carried…
Personalized Learning
T1 Should Support College/Career Goal
National Journal asks whether, as the president suggested, that Title 1 should be contingent upon state adoption of college/career ready standards. Â I think the answer is yes. Title 1 is an effort to promote equitable educational outcomes. The most important equity goal is that every student should graduate…
EdTech
Technology is Missing From Nation's Education Narrative
Tom Vander Ark of Revolution Learning and I were speaking recently around corporate interests in education. One bright spot to this corporate interest in social movements is the Pepsi Refresh Project, which presents a broad list of categories to urge consumers / social media savvy constituents to choose where…
Personalized Learning
House R's Could Learn From Jeb
House Republicans launched these four focus grouped principles: local control, empowering parents, letting teachers teach, and protecting taxpayers. The ‘platform’ has no aspirations, it doesn’t solve problems, it simply seeks to avoid offense. Â It’s clear ESEA isn’t happening this year. Hill Republicans would do well to spend an…
Personalized Learning
DC Updates: Tony, Supts, Dog With Bone, Talent
Deputy Secretary Tony Miller got a rowdy but appreciative reception at the Education Industry Association last night.  Education service providers asked Tony why education is the only department that shuns private sector involvement  (e.g., Energy investments).  The answers–you can work for districts and it’s historical–didn’t satisfy the…
Personalized Learning
3 Pivot Points to a Performance-Based Education System
In education, there’s a lot up in the air right now: standards, testing, employment practices, budgets, student technology, online learning, and federal policy. It’s conceivable that if we took advantage of the uncertainty, a few places could emerge with a better and cheaper education system.  Here’s three pivot points that…
Personalized Learning
Bad Proxies for Good Teachers
Read Rotherham’s Atlantic article on Teach For America (TFA) and what it takes to be a good teacher. It’s a great summary of what the field, TFA in particular, has learned recently about the attributes of good teachers. However, it’s frustrating that we remain so unsophisticated about the predictive…
Personalized Learning
Hysteria Around Turnarounds
The NYTimes ran a story with this misleading headline and byline A Vote to Fire All Teachers at a Failing High School CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — A plan to dismiss the entire faculty and staff of the only public high school in this small city…