Archive
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NSBA Virtual Schools Report & The Questions Of “True Costs”
Overall, it’s nothing new; a rehash of reports from years past. Much of this information has been presented, discussed and debated in state capitols across the country. The report does, however, draw mostly negative conclusions about online schools, which is not a surprise given the policy views of NSBA and aggressive lobbying by its state chapters against charter schools, multi-district online schools, and parent choice.
Howard Fuller Steals the Stage This Morning at NSVF Summit
Howard Fuller steals the stage this morning at the NewSchools Venture Fund (NSVF) Summit in San Francisco California this morning as he candidly makes hard hitting points on the importance of saving the lives of children today by rethinking a broken system of education. He says, we've come a long way, but we have such a long way to go. "We should claim no lies or easy victories as we move forward for our kids," says Fuller.
Good Work in the Private Sector
US education needs more private capital and the horsepower of private enterprise to make the transition to personal digital learning. More broadly, we have an historic opportunity in this decade to extend quality secondary and tertiary education to every young person on the planet—certainly one of the most important milestones in human history—but that will take all three sectors working in collaboratively.
5 Strategies to Deliver Edtech Access to Every Student
Over the last few weeks I’ve participated in a number of conversations about student access strategies. It comes down to what device and who pays.
Education Must Move Center Stage in the Presidential Election
Joel Klein had a great oped in the Washington Post this morning. Like Joel, we're disappointed with the lack of focus on education on the campaign trail, "Until former senator Rick Santorum called President Obama “ a snob ” last month for wanting all Americans to attend college, education had been practically invisible in this presidential campaign."
Yes! A Productivity Agenda!
In a recent report (and a wave of blog posts) it is clear that Bruce Baker takes offense at the current discussion around improving productivity in public education.
NewSchools Announces Early-Stage EdTech Fund to Accelerate Student Achievement
ewSchools Venture Fund today announced the creation of an Education Technology Seed Fund, a new initiative to invest in entrepreneurs developing education technology tools, applications, content, and services that will significantly improve education opportunities for children from low-income communities.
Strategic Collaboration Yields Great Options for All Students
School district and charter collaboration is obviously a good idea. When collaboration leads to strategic coordination, it has the potential to create a single portfolio of quality educational options. Jim Shelton and I wrote about this in a 2004 paper—Good Urban Schools: A Portfolio Approach—that still holds up pretty well.
New Report States Online Learning Is Two-Thirds the Cost
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute released today "The Costs of Online Learning," a report by Parthenon Group that estimates fulltime virtual and blended schools cost considerably less per pupil than traditional brick-and-mortar public schools. While costs vary within many of the models, on average, fulltime virtual schools cost up to a third less per pupil than conventional schools.
Education Funding Should Promote Equity, Performance & Innovation
Kansas governor Brownback is proposing a new school funding formula that would let counties raise their local property taxes rates to spend more on schools. He's right that school funding needs an overhaul, but he's missing all of the key ingredients: school funding should be weighted, portable, and performance-based.