Hybrid and Blended Learning: The Next Sentence in the Conversation
Hybrid schooling, and its close cousin blended learning, come up quickly and often in education reform conversations. The question is, what’s the third or fourth sentence in the conversation? There’s plenty of interest in the idea of blending face-to-face learning—what most of us of voting age know simply as “school”—with online education. (This is more […]
New investments… and a new video!
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/18677353 w=500&h=281] Back in September, we made a promise that if 150,000 people pledged to see the movie Waiting for “Superman”, we would invest $5 million in entrepreneurial organizations that improve public education for low-income kids. The movie gets viewers outraged—as they should be—at the fact that in some communities, a quality education is […]
Why Your Government Matters
It’s not a schoolhouse rock segment (the song would be pretty lame), nor even a Civics class topic—it’s the question that NewSchools CEO Ted Mitchell will be addressing at tomorrow’s hearing of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Thursday. Ted will be among one of four witnesses testifying about the crucial things […]
Education Innovation… and Alan Greenspan?
It wasn’t so long ago that events about education innovation were seen as the province of a few futuristic fanatics. For those who even put education and innovation in the same sentence, it was rarefied stuff. When folks got together to talk about innovation in education – and it wasn’t often – they could easily […]
School reform vs. school jobs? No.
Tucked away in a military spending bill in the House of Representatives is a false choice: saving jobs vs. education reform. The proposal, by Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, came to light yesterday thanks to the considerable candlepower of Alyson Klein, half of the dynamic duo that covers federal education […]
i3: Anyone got a match?
For everyone who’s up late or early putting the finishing touches on an Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund application, this coffee refill is for you. Those i3 applications are due at 4:30 pm Eastern time tomorrow, May 12, so if you sneak out of Summit at 3:45, we’ll know why. (Yes, the due date got […]
Help welcome first-time attendees feel welcome at the NewSchools Summit
A whopping 25%. That’s the percent of people attending this year’s NewSchools Summit for the very first time. If you’re among that 25%, welcome! We look forward to meeting you. If you’re among the other 75% — and especially if you’re one of those longstanding, card-carrying members of the entrepreneurial education movement who has attended […]
Object lessons in political savvy
Yesterday, I woke up to the latest in a series of object lessons in political savvy for education entrepreneurs. My alarm clock radio is set to NPR, and this morning, I hazed into consciousness listening to a terrific piece by Claudio Sanchez on the growing field of teacher residency programs. The piece focused mostly on […]
I see i3 …
With 29 days until the application deadline, we got a first look this week at what the giant pile of applications might look like. April 1 was the deadline for applicants for the Investing in Innovation (i3) fund to turn in e-mails indicating their intent to apply for grants under the $650 million fund. Take […]
Just a Little Light Summer Reading
The Department of Education has put out a call for readers to judge entries in the Investing in Innovation Fund competition. (Applications for the fund aren’t out yet, but this call is a sure sign they’re coming soon.) This is crucial stuff: as with all jury trials, this depends on having smart, well-informed folks on […]