(Originally published by U.S. News & World Report)
Last week, I met with a group of education technology entrepreneurs at 1776, a Washington, D.C.-based startup incubator and venture fund that supports innovators working to solve major public policy challenges. It was inspiring to meet so many people interested in pitching their ideas to schools and to see how much technology stands to help the space. From a platform designed to boost teacher retention by offering peer-to-peer mentoring and one designed to empower data-driven decision-making, to a resource to help Parent-Teacher Organizations and Parent-Teacher Associations with their fundraising needs, these early- to mid-stage ventures are testing the waters with ideas that could revolutionize how our schools operate. Many will fail, some will be able to sell their innovation to larger companies and others will hopefully take off a la Uber one day. As the former head of the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education who later worked for a for-profit company interested in pitching its services to the K-12 sector, I have a keen appreciation for ideas and products that can shake up the status quo in education. There are, of course, countless challenges involved with penetrating the K-12 space, but the odds of success will improve if innovators follow five guidelines…Read more here.
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