Having created a string of low-performing but profitable virtual charter schools, K12 Inc. has announced that it is entering the lucrative preschool market.
This is a new venture for the corporation founded by the Milken brothers. Equity investor Whitney Tilson warned other investors last year against K12, which he compared to the subprime mortgage industry, but the company keeps coming up with new ideas to put children in front of computers and absorb public dollars.
Here is the latest bad news for American children:
“http://www.prweb.com/releases/Kindergarten/Embark/prweb10959407.htm
K12 Inc. Launches EmbarK12 Comprehensive, a Kindergarten-Readiness Product; New, Award-Winning Program Gets Children Ages 3 to 5 Ready for Kindergarten
New product aims to fulfill the need for high-quality early learning programs to prepare children for kindergarten and is being made available to consumers and school districts for the first time.
An early learning advantage we can’t afford to miss…
Herndon, VA (PRWEB) July 24, 2013
Industry leader K12 Inc. [NYSE: LRN], is fulfilling the need for high-quality early learning programs through the release of a product aimed at preparing children for kindergarten: EmbarK12 TM Comprehensive. The innovative, research-based, award-winning kindergarten-readiness product has already been introduced in some of the leading national pre-K learning centers. The curriculum is now being made available to consumers and school districts for the first time.
EmbarK12 is an extension of K12 Inc.’s [NYSE: LRN] commitment to offer the most engaging and innovative products and programs to inspire young minds and provide high-caliber, individualized learning options. Development was spearheaded by K12’s Dr. Melissa King, who has more than 35 years of professional experience as an educator, in conjunction with a highly skilled team of developers and designers.
EmbarK12 Comprehensive PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
A truly comprehensive, easy-to-use, all-in-one pre-K program offering both online and offline activities with rich multimedia and hands-on, minds-on engagement for children who are 3 to 5 years of age.
The customizable lesson plans can be tailored to child-specific skills and interests and include more than 450 online activities and more than 750 hands-on activities. There are 18 thematic units, each with intuitive, related content and instructional experiences for language arts, math, science, social studies, art, and music. Examples of themes include: “Family and Friends,” “My Five Senses” and “Looking at Animals.”
The program has already won multiple awards, including the Parents’ Choice Award, Association of Educational Publishers Golden Lamp Award Finalist and Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award.
Parents are encouraged to review “KINDERGARTEN: Is Your Child Ready?” and to play an active role in a highly individualized, early learning process.
Curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and with core principles of early childhood education established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and Core Knowledge Foundation.
CYBER-SAVVY YOUNGSTERS REALIZING FULL, ACADEMIC POTENTIAL
“Whether your child is thriving in a neighborhood preschool or you’re juggling multiple things and have a youngster who is curious and open to learning in new and different ways at home, EmbarK12 is designed to meet you and your child where you are,” explains Dr. King. “Age 3 to 5 is such a precious time and opportunity. I think we all instinctively know this as parents. Having a program that makes the most of this important window of time is an early learning advantage we can’t afford to miss if we want our children to reach their true academic potential.”
“I’m excited about EmbarK12 because it offers the best content, the best instruction, the best materials and the best design. I’m sure parents will share my enthusiasm when they see how well EmbarK12 can prepare their children for kindergarten,” she added.
“There’s no question young children today are increasingly cyber savvy and engaging products developed with sound learning fundamentals can help prepare the next generation of young students to not just get off on the right foot, but to head into elementary school with a strong foundation and real learning momentum,” explained Dr. Margaret Jorgensen, K12’s Chief Academic Officer. “It could be game-changing for young students who deserve the brightest of futures.”
Many others in the education arena echo the importance of quality pre-K education. Educators across the U.S. have identified kindergarten-readiness as an educational priority, and even the President of the United States has made kindergarten-readiness a national issue. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there is a robust body of evidence and research demonstrating that high-quality, early learning programs help children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid3690314960001?bckey=AQ~~,AAADUxzzImk~,ZRG9vr9In2AsCdQr8yTtTlreIu4ZIuEb&bclid=0&bctid=3839861649001
Dallas press video of instructional coach hired to replace ousted teacher at Dallas’ Dade Middle School, leaving after one day of work.
5 of the 10 instructional coaches- hired to replace 10 removed teachers- walked out.
Parent Advocate states to the reporter that the teachers and principal are “scared to death” of the Broad Superintendent Mike Miles and live in a culture of fear.
cross-posted at http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Bad-News-K12-Inc-Enters-t-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Computers_Diane-Ravitch_Dollar_Education-141015-342.html#comment516168
with this comment at the end:
If you are following my series 15,880/50 ( school districts/states) you will begin to get the BIG PICTURE of how public education is being monitarizesd… BUT THAT is not my point, just an important understanding. The point is that to sell the charters and the tech to replace the great INSTITUION of public education, they needed to make ‘the schools” fail… easily accomplished if you remove the voice of the classroom practitioner (i.e. TEACHER) and let some stop-down political manager mandate anti-learning curricula crap.
BUT, it is the $$$$ that is making the assault work, and the fact that few people know what is happening in the schools next door, let alone in almost sixteen thousand districts in the 49 other states.
Richard Brodsky was one of New York’s most enlightened state legislators. He is currently a senior fellow at the Wagner School at New York Univetsity.
In this article,
http://m.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Richard-Brodsky-Public-schools-need-funding-focus-5802855.php
he describes the new politics of education: the policy debates are now dominated by hedge fund managers and rightwing billionaires.
When people like me say these things, the corporate reformers say derisively, “Conspiracy theory.”
Brodsky is a level-headed veteran of state politics. This is what he says:”The usual participants [in legislative debates about education] have been school boards, parents, unions, the education establishment and the occasional adventurous elected official. Starting a few years ago, and more so now, there are new players in New York. The brawny and outspoken new kid is the hedge fund community.
“Say what? Well, there are millions in hedge fund dollars now floating around.
Is Broad behind the awards won and the accolades? Ugh. Disgusting. I hope they lose and lose big and … poof…disappear.
I’ve wondered that, too. These ads for these online schools always say that they have, “award-winning curriculum.” I always wonder who is giving the awards to these crappy things?
Not even Steve Jobs would allow his young children to use computers. Neither will many Silicon Valley parents. Why would that be? Because they know that real learning takes place as a result of interactions between human beings. “All About Me”, “My Five Senses”, or “My Neighborhood” themes only make sense to children when they experience it first hand. Little children learn differently than adults or teens because they learn with all of their senses and not just with their fingers pushing around a mouse. Most so called educational programs for children are little more than high tech flash cards….another useless tool for very young children.
They will make money because parents are so frightened that their child will be behind that they will buy it themselves or get their schools to purchase it. Hopefully the early childhood educators out there can talk sense into school boards and jittery moms and dads. But as in all educational discussions these days, no one listens to the teachers.
This is moving into the astrology/televangelism category of consumer fraud.
FLERP!, Your comment is perfect.
But wait, there’s more!
Your perspective about the ability to use fear to prey on parents is on point and is part of the marketing strategy for the entire privatization movement because… it’s worked in the past. I remember as an elementary student being told that the Sputnik launch proved we were falling behind the Russians and as a Superintendent in the early 1980s being told we were a nation at risk and now hearing over and over agains about falling behind China. In college I read a lot of George Orwell’s essays so I know where this is coming from…. and having worked in education I know the most engaged parents are concerned about getting their kids into the best colleges. Fear works, and the preschool parent market is a good place to go because there is no one to counter the worthlessness of the online packages. From Baby Mozart to K12 to corporate charter schools…
People–FIGHT this, FIGHT it like the 18 school districts fought–& slayed!!–the K-12 beast in ILL-Annoy. Go back to Diane’s post about K-12 invading North Carolina & read all the comments/information posted there. YOU, too, can slay this beast. k-12 left ILL-Annoy with it’s head between it’s legs. EIGHTEEN school districts REJECTED
K-12’s charter request and did so–with such an amazing barrage of detailed , succinct questions from all 18 school boards & their administrators–that the company rep. could not answer any of their questions, appealed all of the denials to the ILL-Annoy Charter Commission, then withdrew it’s appeals (as the ILL-Annoy legislature passed legislation for a one-year moratorium on virtual charters)–& its major administrator resigned! REFUSE K-12–it is not education–it’s the computerized version of Pear$on, and it’s poison for our children. Yes, YOU can–we DID!
Not that I want to wish them luck but good luck with pre schoolers…I’m a tech teacher and this year was the first year that most of my students had never used a computer. Can you guess why? It took a moment or two but they all have iPads they’ve never used a computer. They didn’t even know what a mouse or keys were. I’ve had to scale back my lessons, to what I would consider pre school lessons….so good luck having computer lessons with pre schoolers.
“This is a new venture for the corporation founded by the Milken brothers.”
Actually, Milken’s Knowledge Learning Corporation bought the largest chain of private for-profit preschools in the US for $1.1 billion in 2005, KinderCare, and they have programs that serve kids from birth through age 12, so he Milken has had his hands all over Early Childhood Education for awhile. The primary difference now is that his programs have multiple funding streams, including parent fees, subsidies for Child Care Assistance, the Federal Food Program and recent ventures with Head Start, but none of that amounts to the kind of big money, public school funds, he could be getting from states and school districts which often pay at a considerably higher rate, for programs such as State Pre-K for at-risk children, Universal Preschool and charters that serve preschoolers.
Having worked with many of the staff in his programs across the country, both undergraduate and graduate level teachers and aides, I can tell you that although they often know the lingo and may assert that they implement developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), their curriculum is NOT developmentally appropriate and includes huge amounts of drill and kill, starting in the cradle. Yes, they have themes in Preschool, but they are canned, include scripts for teachers to follow, and they emphasize academics. Play is not highly valued, so don’t expect to see online programs that are DAP either, regardless of their claims.
I just noticed that this is a press release from July 2013.
FLERP, still true.
Well, it’s true in the same way that everything that happens has happened. It’s not a “new venture” by K12, though. The post gives the misleading impression that this is an announcement that K12 just made.
Since it’s been around a bit, I wondered if there’s feedback so I just did a quick Google search for online reviews.
K12 must have been doing a lot of online marketing. Reviews are glowing about the programs awesomeness! The reviews seem to be coming from the stay-at-home and homeschooling demographic who are already familiar with K12 online ed.
Moreover and more suspiciously, a bunch of seeminingly independent parenting blogs contain this disclaimer to their reviews:
“This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of K12, the leader in online education for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.”
Maybe the American Academy of Pediatrics will strongly condemn this and other programs that push for more, not less screen time for toddlers and preschoolers.
The best way for young children to learn is through their senses with discovery and exploration at the core of the learning experience. This is just another sad greed grab. Maybe the charters want to develop early learning compliance. I don’t know how long it is healthy for preschoolers to sit staring a a screen. I have a feeling it may be harmful to their ocular development. Aren’t there any people left in government with any scruples and common sense?
Does anyone here have information on how Google Chrome is being introduced to classrooms (particularly in NY State) and how those contracts were done in school districts- the money trail. Also would any folks here have information on (or ‘if’) the use of Google Chrome in the classroom was tied to RttT funding or an imperative of Common Core mandates.
Pharmaceuticals and therapists are going to be the next big thing if and when this is adopted.
YUP, notice and high percentage of pharmaceudical drugs advertised on TV? It’s revolting.
Learning is social. What happened to the old fashion way of teaching children how to construct meaning? What happened to the teaching that captivates their interest; learning without fear and intimidation; and giving them the sense of freedom to experiment and explore? The computer can not begin to meet the needs of pre-schoolers and kindergarteners as the literature approach. Reading stories written by fabulous children’s authors, singing, reciting poems and finger plays are vehicles to teach indirectly, concepts the computer teaches directly and in turn causing apprehension, confusion, and distraction.
All the basic needs for pre-school and kindergarten are met in an interesting and captivating way with literature, music, poems and finger plays: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. All basic physical needs are met- developing the senses, body awareness, (add recess for running, jumping, climbing.) There are countless rich stories, poems and songs to develop cognitive skills – imagination, using complete sentences, re-telling stories, role playing, counting including ordinals, colors, alphabet names and sounds, reading… Eric Carle’s books to name just one author, has stories that teach about science, counting, math, colors, name it- all in an interesting, captivating, and memorable way. Leave it to the fairy tales and authors like William Steig whom people have long forgotten about, to teach social skills- living and working together, dramatizing, interacting with building and playing. Dramatizing above all provide for their emotional needs- getting positive feed back from classmates and teachers giving them the sense of accomplishment.
If teachers should wait with the pencil and paper activities for sure wait with the computer. Instead of spending an entire year learning the alphabet – names and sound along with sight words through direct instruction and taxing the memory, only to be forgotten along the way, let the teachers help construct meaning via interesting, captivating, meaningful ways which will be remembered for the next goals/ skills.
Put the computers in the closet.
A new study that just came out, “Quality of Words, Not Quantity, Is Crucial to Language Skills,Study Finds,”
The study reiterates what I posted yesterday. Interaction is vital. In this study it was the interaction with parents. Parents need to converse with their children more frequently.
Above all prekindergarten and kindergarten need more quality interaction then quantity. ” …conversational fluency… a far better predictor of language skills at age 3 than any other factor, including the quantity of words a child heard.”
So what would be the best program for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten? Listening to great literature and responding via discussion, role playing, singing, reciting of poems, finger plays and retelling of the story via the pictures in lieu of paper and pencil activities and for sure in lieu of Computers. Computers aren’t going to develop communication skills.