Author Archives: Rita Ferrandino

Online Products: Adapting for Review Committees

As companies with digital and traditional products can attest, it can be much more difficult to get a balanced and thorough review of digital products by curriculum committees, whose processes continue to be geared heavily toward printed curriculum.  The committees are used to a rubric-based process, in which all of the curriculum and support materials […]

Is an Ed Tech Bubble Coming?

The education market continues to shift toward digital content and educational technology.  According to the newly released “Supplemental Products Market: 2014 Size, Growth and Trends” by Education Market Research, the emphasis on digital products continues to grow, with 45.9% of 86 companies saying their focus was 51% or more on digital, compared with 23.8% of […]

September 2014 Government Relations Update

Education and the Midterm Elections While many are focused on how control of the House and Senate could change during the upcoming midterm elections, from an education standpoint, governor’s races across the country are the ones to watch. The single greatest influence on education in a given state is the governor, so it is critical […]

Are You Growing Your Business Exponentially?

For most businesses, linear growth – maybe 10 or 15 percent annually, year in and year out – is certainly not a bad thing, but many companies do not take a step back to think about moving beyond linear growth to the next level of exponential growth of 30 percent or more. So what is […]

Is Your Company Worth Investing In?

Of course your company is fantastic, but would anyone give you money for it? As investors, we see many companies who fail to ask themselves that question. If you are looking for investment, it is critical that you know what type of company it is that you are building. In general, there are three types […]

The Benefits of Benefits Corporations

It can be difficult for executives and entrepreneurs to determine how they will balance the interests of stockholders with a desire to have a positive social impact. Incorporating as a “public benefit corporation” (or “P.B.C.”) is one way to balance public benefits purposes with fiduciary responsibilities. On August 1, Delaware became the 19th state to […]

Common Core – For Our Kids

Note: This column ran in the August 16, 2013 edition of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: What do economic development, better jobs, and our kids’ future all have in common? Good schools. In a few days schools will be back in session. But are those schools good enough? The education our kids get will determine how well […]

Restructuring Federal STEM Funding

Under President Obama’s FY2014 funding request, federal STEM funding could be substantially restructured and streamlined, part of a broader goal to create a “cohesive national STEM education strategy” at every level – K-12, undergraduate, graduate and informal education. The $3.1 billion total request for STEM education is 6.7 percent increase from the FY2012 funded level. […]

Next Generation Science Standards Released

The final Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were released on Tuesday, April 9th and they call for some dramatic changes to the way science is taught in the United States. The NGSS guidelines are rigorous:  they are intended to combat widespread scientific ignorance, provide a set of internationally benchmarked standards for K-12 science education and […]