When Public Mission Meets Private Opportunity
April 24, 2013
The intersection between public mission and private opportunity continues to get busier as schools search for better ways to educate students, and entrepreneurs work to create products and services to help educators achieve their goals. This special report—a follow-up to our 2012 report “Accelerating Innovation” and produced with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York—examines the complex relationship between the private and public sectors in K-12. The report is part of Education Week's commitment to following the education industry and new approaches to schooling on a special Industry & Innovation channel.
- School & District Management Schools Evaluate Whether to Privatize Support ServicesDistricts' decisions about whether to contract out services or keep them in-house are influenced by myriad and often competing factors.School & District Management 'A La Carte' Purchasing Tactics Signal Districts' Unique NeedsWhile K-12 procurement of curricular materials has long favored big companies, many districts are now relying on smaller, startup companies to supplement their curriculum needs.School & District Management Beta Testing Ed. Products Can Get Tricky for SchoolsWhen school leaders agree to beta test a product, they know that they may be creating extra work for teachers and administrators, and that they may be forced to carve out class time for trying it out.School & District Management Big Ed. Companies Face K-12 Buying ShiftLarge education companies still carry advantages over their smaller counterparts, but experts say K-12 procurement practices are shifting to include a greater variety of vendors.School & District Management Big-Name Companies Feature Larger-Impact Research EffortsSerious efficacy studies can start as high as $150,000, a price tag that keeps most smaller market players from commissioning similar studies.
School & District Management Schools Vet Ed. Companies' Research With a Critical EyeEducators are trying to make smart decisions about what learning products they use based on limited, and sometimes questionable, research about those products.
College & Workforce Readiness N.Y.C.-IBM Partnership Focuses on Students' Tech. SkillsThe public-private initiative between the technology company and a city school aims to prepare students for future careers.School & District Management Ed. Companies Exert Public-Policy InfluenceSome experts are alarmed at what they see as increasingly aggressive moves by companies, but others see those moves as the natural interplay between the private and public sectors.
School & District Management Ed. Companies, K-12 Policymakers Seek Common GroundAs the educational marketplace continues to grow, more companies are working with policymakers to iron out better ways to work together to meet the needs of schools.
