Gates to ConnectEDU: Where's Our Dough?
When we last left this story, ConnectEDU, a company that had an interactive program to try to connect middle school students with info on college/career. From the story in the Wall Street Journal yesterday:
In July 2013, the well-known foundation awarded a nearly $500,000 grant to ConnectEDU to develop an interactive program to help students master literacy under the Common Core standards that many states use to guide how public school students are caught.
The money came with some conditions, including a promise to only use the funds for the development of the new technology as well as a timeline requiring benchmarks to be met along the way. The grant, paid out in two installments, was set to expire this December.
I pause here to note that I didn't remember that the Gates grant to ConnectEDU was around Common Core.
ConnectEDU filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year. Apparently since then, ConnectEDU has not answered the Gates Foundation's questions about the grant money.
Well, guess who wants their money? The Gates Foundation.
They want the Court to put the money they gave Connect EDU (however much that is leftover at the point ConnectEDU went bankrupt) to be put in a separate account and given back to Gates. (They also want ConnectEDU to give them documents they asked for and has asked the Court to make them hand them over to the GF.)
It's as if the Gates Foundation thinks they are the most important company/group in the list of entities that want a share of any assets. I have a feeling that the Court is going to say to Gates Foundation, "Get in line."
What is still unknown is how much SPS student data that ConnectEDU has and, in general, what ConnectEDU is going to do with all the student data from many districts that they have. They could, in theory, sell it off to the highest bidder.
In July 2013, the well-known foundation awarded a nearly $500,000 grant to ConnectEDU to develop an interactive program to help students master literacy under the Common Core standards that many states use to guide how public school students are caught.
The money came with some conditions, including a promise to only use the funds for the development of the new technology as well as a timeline requiring benchmarks to be met along the way. The grant, paid out in two installments, was set to expire this December.
I pause here to note that I didn't remember that the Gates grant to ConnectEDU was around Common Core.
ConnectEDU filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year. Apparently since then, ConnectEDU has not answered the Gates Foundation's questions about the grant money.
Well, guess who wants their money? The Gates Foundation.
They want the Court to put the money they gave Connect EDU (however much that is leftover at the point ConnectEDU went bankrupt) to be put in a separate account and given back to Gates. (They also want ConnectEDU to give them documents they asked for and has asked the Court to make them hand them over to the GF.)
It's as if the Gates Foundation thinks they are the most important company/group in the list of entities that want a share of any assets. I have a feeling that the Court is going to say to Gates Foundation, "Get in line."
What is still unknown is how much SPS student data that ConnectEDU has and, in general, what ConnectEDU is going to do with all the student data from many districts that they have. They could, in theory, sell it off to the highest bidder.
Comments
SPS seems to be worried more that ConnectEDU is breaking the contract by not giving the data back (I wish they would be more aggressive about their statement.)
I will try to keep up with this. I had expected some more info from the district on how many students and how much data was given to ConnectEDU.
Questioning
District's think that if they contract out data management and, in this case, counseling services they'll save money.
My kid is not going to be widget for these clowns.
NM
Well, SPS thinks they have SPS student data so Nick, that's confusing.
The bad guys work at SPS not the BMGF, so focus your efforts on SPS and stop being distracted by every fart coming from Bill Gates.
Wilfred
Wilfred
Nice try.
They may very well have data on SPS students; however, it didn't come from this grant. To my knowledge (and I'm willing to admit I'm wrong if you can prove me wrong), this CC software was never actually released.
NM
Maybe there's some correlation to diet or personnel hygiene and learning.
DNA will be next!
NB Parent