Archive
component:when.finance
7 charter authorizing strategies for scale & quality
I forgot an important 6th charter authorizing path that will continue to grow in importance–conversions. With budget cuts and dysfunctional districts, more public schools are contemplating charter conversion. To guard against ‘take the money and run’ (previously common in GA and elsewhere) where schools become charter in name only, a…
The Great Inflection & what it means for Edu-Philanthropy
We’re at a turning point. Thirty years ago, Fritjof Capra, who paved the systems thinking pathway for Senge and Wheatley, warned that mankind always sees itself at a turning point. But this time it’s really true. Expanded access to broadband, cheap…
RttT has already had biggest impact of any grant program
Race to the Top strikes again! The mother of all grant programs has produced more reform than any grant program in history. And the feds haven’t spent a dime yet. Three quarters of the states have indicated that they’ll be applying for phase 1 grants in January and most have…
5 charter authorizing strategies to max RttT
It’s time to rethink charter school authorization. There are 5,000 charter schools in the US (about 5% of the total number of schools) and a push from the Department of Education for more. Given that half of the charters aren’t any better than traditional public schools, there has been a push…
DOE is major venture investor (but not ED)
The WSJ reports that the Department of Energy has quietly become the biggest venture capital investor: The DOE hopes to lend or give out more than $40 billion to businesses working on “clean technology,” everything from electric cars and novel batteries to wind turbines and solar panels.
Racing to the top in Baton Rouge
Duncan’s Race to the Top is not simply a race to beat out other states for funding, or to pass “qualifying” language at the last minute, it is a competition to see who can work collaboratively and innovatively with real commitment to education reform. The challenge is so great…
Great ConnCAN report unpacks CT's bizarre school funding
ConnCAN, the best state education advocacy organization in the country, continues to beat the drum for equity and excellence in Connecticut. The Tab is a hard hitting report on the bizarre state funding model that rewards failure rather than promoting accountability and school choice. Here’s summary recommendations:…
On capital budgeting and innovation
You may recall a boring unit on capital budgeting if you took a finance class in college. Your prof may have failed made the connection, but primary source of innovation is the capital accumulation and allocation decisions to produce a product/service that solves a customer problem. School districts raise…
TIF or Promise?
Alyson at EdWeek contrasts the love-but-no-$ for Promise Neighborhoods and the whopping $517m for the Teacher Incentive Fund, which allocates grants to districts to create or bolster performance-pay programs. I’m on the board of MLA Partner Schools in Los Angeles which has developed a great turnaround strategy for…
Free higher ed courses not great USED investment
Rick Hess makes a series of good arguments that the $500m ‘online skills laboratory’ isn’t a great investment. In the mixed provider post secondary space, quality content isn’t the top barrier. It’s pricing that reflects the sunk costs of existing institutions. A healthy market will make investment in…