edbizbuzz

In 1993 entrepreneur Michael Sandler combined his business acumen and personal interest in the reform of public education to form Eduventures. The firm was probably the first company focused on the new breed of businesspersons forming firms to change teaching and learning with the sale of new products, services and programs. Located in Boston, then (and still) one of the hotbeds of k-12 research, development and policy innovation in close proximity to venture capital, Eduventures was well-positioned to help firms think about their future, make strategic connections, and get into the capital raising game.

Continue reading "Eduventures' Sell Off Suggests the End of an Era" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New York Times’ Sam Dillon wrote the most recent version of a story we see roughly every six months, which I’ll call the “virtual education wars.” It’s an easy write – describe the size of the market, quote someone who likes it – a parent, provider, or policy wonk; quote someone who is opposed – an official from a district harmed economically or a teachers union representative; find a scandal; see what's going on in the courts and legislatures. There’s nothing wrong with this, the public needs to be reminded it’s an issue, but I never get the idea that these articles advance the discussion, they simply reify the insiders' debate.

Continue reading "Virtual Education: The Real Issues" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are three potential reasons the 100/2014 goal might be impossible:

The first is that the goal lacks realism in some existential, absolute sense. As noted Friday, that argument would have more credibility if its makers were achieving 90% and the year were 2012, instead of 60, 70 or 80% today.

The real protest gets to the second possible reason. Opponents of 100/2014 would like to conflate their inability to reach the lower targets with the impossibility of the higher. The fight against 100/2014 is not about the higher goal for students. That's a diversion. The underlying issue is what must happen to adult interests if the public school system is to get anywhere near the vicinity of 100/2014 and the stability of the balance of political power among adult stakeholders if those changes are made.

The second reason it might be impossible to achieve 100 percent student proficiency by 2014 amounts to a lack of political will.

Here's what the industry ought to be saying....

Continue reading "Does a Lack of Political Will Make NCLB's "100/2014" Impossible?" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

With thousands of firms and more programs, it’s hard to understand and monitor the emerging forest called the school improvement industry. It’s relatively easy to watch one tree. Appreciating a part of the forest – a segment of the industry, falls somewhere in between.

As with all industries, it can be a challenge to identify where one part of the forest - say elementary reading, leaves off and another - like Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) picks up. Sometimes a stand is dominated by a handful of Giant Sequoias overshadowing a thousand saplings, as in textbook publishing. Most territories – Supplemental Educational Services (SES) and professional development, for example, consist of hundreds of trees, growing but still immature.

Continue reading "Following For-Profit Providers (IV): Industry Segments" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A brief intense research effort before purchasing a for-profit firm’s offerings, entering into some kind partnering arrangement, or investing in it, is basic due diligence. While it’s very hard to develop a coherent picture of the school improvement industry and then follow it on your own, it’s quite a bit easier to track individual firms. With a little bit of work up front, the monitoring process becomes almost automatic.

Continue reading "Following For-Profit Providers (III): Individual Firms" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After almost four years of publishing School Improvement Industry’s information services, I feel confident asserting that readers who want to follow the school improvement industry on their own face a significant investment of time. Still, it’s not impossible, and here are some suggestions, starting with the big picture.

In any field of study, researchers, analysts and policy makers seek a view of the forest. Without it, it’s very hard to make sense of any tree. Products, services, programs and their providers are as they are because of the forces exerted by other providers, school districts, etc, etc. Information about school improvement providers as a class is simply fundamental to the appreciation of any provider and its offerings.

Continue reading "Following For-Profit Providers (II): The Big Picture" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Miller-McKeon NCLB II Discussion Draft would bar for-profit firms from nine school improvement programs in Title I, and many more throughout the law. I now understand why the Business, Foundation and Innovation panel of the House Education and Labor Committee's Gang of Forty Four Hearings on September 10 was dominated by nonprofits. Somehow, some many someones on that committee have come to see philanthropy and nonprofits as the “supply side” of school improvement.

Continue reading "Following For-Profit Providers (I)" »

Posted by Dean Millot at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)