Crazy Crawfish, who worked in the Louisiana Department of Education, here explains what the data warehouse funded by the Gates Foundation ($100 million) and created by Rupert Murdoch’s subsidiary Wireless Generation will eventually cost parents, schools, and districts:
| SEAs, state agencies, not schools, are giving the data away. The reason some are doing it quicker than others is they are purportedly getting a “discount” on services they plan to purchase from inBloom and related vendors. Eventually there will be fees on everything that will just add and add and addd. For starters there is a storage fee coming. Then there will report fees, licensing fees, franchise fees, research fees, fees for altering data, access fees for viewing your own data, fee fees because someone needs to make a bottom line. Etc. These vendors will offer more “discounts” in exchange for more data, free/unfettered use of the data for non-educational purposes. These vendors have already recruited folks who helped them push through these FERPA changes, that will continue. So you should expect our eduational leaders to make money indrectly whent hey are hired by inBloom, Amplify, Ed-fi, and others at exhorbitant rates. |
So not only will inBloom have your student’s info for free, they will be charging you (tax dollars) to access it!
Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado is piloting inBloom. The Denver Post reported inBloom will charge the district $2-$5 per student after 2014.
When asked if parents could opt-out their children, JeffCo CIO Greg Mortimer claimed opting out “would cause the whole system to ‘crumble.'”
The article further stated: “Mortimer gave the hypothetical example of a teacher with 30 students, two of whom have opted out of the program. The teacher has to enter the children’s attendance in the old program and in the case of a fire drill, it could appear that two students were missing.”
JeffCo is capitalizing on parental fears to sell inBloom. Telling parents their children will be more safe because of inBloom is beyond reprehensible.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23049220/jeffco-merging-school-it-programs-parents-worry-about
Score one for the good guys
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130419/NEWS01/130419017/Superintendent-John-White-recalls-student-data-stored-nonprofit-inBloom-?nclick_check=1
This is incredible news, Jason! Thank you for sharing!!
Spread the word Rachael. Parents are horrified when they find out. Have you read this yet?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/inbloom-education-data-cloud-jeopardizes-lives-new-york-students-article-1.1288189
One more:
http://www.classsizematters.org/clips-from-our-march-14-2013-press-conference/
Rachel: read here…it seems White, a lying TFA spawn, is not telling the entire story:
http://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/john-whites-hidden-memorandum-of-understanding-with-inbloom/
Al Kosha: (from Pete’s Dragon) “We got a bill of sale right here, right here! “
Kasha
After what Rupert Murdoch’s paper did in England, and what just happened in Boston it is unblievable to me that he would be allowed to have anything to do with children. That young boys life in Boston has probably been alterd forever. I am sure that both was done because of the culture he creates in his work place, “get the scope at all costs” or lose your job. Murdoch has no ethics what so ever and should not be allowed near this information.
I thank Sheila Kaplan and Leonie Haimson for fighting and getting the word out on this issue. Both have been a great resource and tireless. I wouldn’t know as much about this without both of them and Diane. Keep spreading the word to parents everywhere.
I can’t agree enough with your post, Linda. Leonie Haimson has supported my efforts to stop inBloom in JeffCo. I’ve not made much progress but it’s not for lack of trying. Now that LA is withdrawing data, it will be hard for districts like JeffCo to ignore the growing opposition to this unethical marauding of our children’s confidential information. A huge thanks to Ms. Haimson and of course Ms. Kaplan, Dr. Ravitch and those I have yet to “meet!”
You’re welcome, Linda & Rachel.
When this is behind us parents STILL need to opt their children out of student directory information. There are ZERO restrictions on these data. You can sell kids’ PII, use it to profile, give to perverts & domestic violence perpetrators. And recipients of kids’ PII can give it to anyone… who can give it to anyone….
OPT-OUT: PROTECT KIDS