NYC Debates Mayoral Control of Schools

The contest for control of the city's schools is heating up, with a public forum held yesterday in Manhattan.

Who deserves to control the schools in a city school district? Who benefits from mayoral control, and where does the private sector fit in when it comes to adding value to education in the public and charter school systems?

Arne Duncan Lives by the Basketball

Teachers College at Columbia University had Arne Duncan as a speaker long before he was nominated to Education Secretary. Here is what he said about Barack Obama and the future of education.

New York's Governor Mulls Public-Private Partnerships for Education Growth

On the surface of things, New York Governor David Paterson's statements last night during his state of the state address look set to give life to a drive to create new preparatory schools for college across the state.

His plan:

Create public-private partnerships to establish new early college prep high schools to prepare disadvantaged students.

Paterson also wants to expand a program that offers free college tuition to students who meet education standards and create a US$350 million state higher education loan program.

Education Industry Investment Forum

For eleven years, executives attending the EIIF have been finding ways to make new strategic relationships and build the for-profit education business into the booming industry it is today.

The EIIF is privileged this year to present discussions on for-profit ideas and businesses that foster the kinds of developments mentioned by Paterson in his State of the State Address.

We have for the first time in the 11 years of the forum a discussion helmed by a leader of a successful non-profit high school system, Green Dot Schools, who will be giving ideas to the for-profit industry on how for-profits and non-profits can learn from each other.

Marco Petruzzi, President and Chief Operating Officer,
Green Dot Schools, will join three other professionals in the following panel session on March 10, 2009 at 9.55 am:

A Non-Profits and For-Profits Bridge Builder Conversation: Answering the Sustainability Question

• What kind of report card does the private sector receive and how effectively is the private sector bringing up achievement?
• Achieving self-sustainable operations through value add in services or through capital raising projects
• Using student achievement assessment as the ultimate measure of quality and value
• Can the organization marshal and organize the other necessary resources – namely people – to become sustainable? How can it structure its operations in order to ensure that quality remains consistent and high?

Moderator: Ted Mitchell, CEO, New Schools Venture Fund

Larry Berger, CEO, Wireless Generation
George Cigale, Founder & CEO, Tutor.com
Keith Oelrich, CEO, Insight Schools
Marco Petruzzi, President and Chief Operating Officer,
Green Dot Schools

Your Chance to Interact with Speakers

Join these executive speakers and leaders in the industry by registering for the Education Industry Investment Forum, held March 9-11, 2009 at the Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. You can also download the full brochure by clicking on this link.

For a few registered delegates, the FuturEd Symposium, now in its second year, offers five entrepreneurs a chance to sit on a panel to discuss the advances their companies bring to the education industry. More information about the FuturEd Symposium and ways to register here. We look forward to reviewing your application after you have registered for the conference.

New York Times Education Frenzy

If you are invested in education like we are, you will be pleasantly warmed by the bounty of coverage that the New York Times today gives to education as an industry and as an investment strategy.

You can visit a link at the New York Times that is focused on improvements in the education industry: click link here.

The team at the Education Industry Investment Forum has pulled out some of the highlights of the section. We start with the section that looks at schools as powerhouses for innovation and entrepreneurial invention. Here are what we thought were the top three coolest gigs going:

1. Video Games for the Blind in Singapore
2. Gastronomic Chemistry for Middle Schools
3. Feud Sparks Contemplation of Future for G.R.E. and GMAT
4. Two-Year Commuter Colleges Building Residency Halls