In Seattle earlier this week…

“In a way, being Secretary of Education is less significant than being Bill Gates,” the education historian Diane Ravitch said, guessing that the foundation gives more money annually to education than the U.S. Department of Education has available in annual discretionary funds. “I’d rather be Bill Gates.”

“To me, the scary thing is that they have so much money,” Ravitch said. “From the point of view of, let’s say, the democratic process, it’s frightening. That one foundation should have this much power, more so than our federal government, is alarming.”

I would suggest that after 8 years of investment in schools where the opportunity for real reform was blocked by political issues – lengthening the school day, firing ineffective teachers, etc. – the Gates Foundation has uncovered the root of the problem in school reform. Everyone says they want it until they are personally inconvenienced by it. There is not enough political will power to make these kinds of necessary changes.

I would also suggest that it will only be when the business community demands school excellence and creates a path forward, that the K-12 institutional monolith will be forced to change.

For more of this fascinating report on the Gates Foundation’s announcements, check out the rest of this post from Gotham Schools written by Elizabeth Green.

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Post-election and the financial meltdown continues. Discretionary spending is down. The worst October in forty years. Layoffs are increasing. Everyone is holding tight to personal and corporate checkbooks. What should K-12 publishers and service providers do?

The truth is that educators, schools, and districts are still buying – investing in what they think is most necessary to maximize student learning. However, they are giving purchases more scrutiny. So what should we do to make sure that we get our share of what is being spent?

There is no better time than the present to return to the basics in your marketing, sales and customer service:

• Distill and sharpen your message. It is benefits not features.
• Expect more resistance. You’ll have to prove yourself and your product.
• Increase your service quotient. Think relationships and implementation.
• Roll out the red carpet. Be invitational and diligent. Make it easy to buy.

Those companies who understand how to create customer relationships that go beyond transactions will still be successful in this market. The essential value proposition has not changed, although there is a higher expectation of value when fewer dollars are on the table. Respect that.

Finally, treat your customers as partners. If you are not sure what they are now looking for, ask them. It’s never been easier to survey them at minimal cost.

4 Guiding Principles for Navigating Uncertain Times

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The people have spoken and Barack Obama is now our president-elect. As a result of an unprecedented voter turnout for an inspiring leader, the U.S. will soon have at its helm a textbook case of what we espouse in this country. All of us have grown up being told that if we study hard and work hard we can be anything that we want to be. Certainly, that has been true for some of us. But now, we will be led by someone who achieved the highest office in our country “despite” his disadvantages. And he did it through hard work and a stellar education.

We will now have a president who understands the personal transformation that education brings. Someone who passionately believes in the importance of early childhood education beginning as early as possible in a child’s life, and the importance of sustaining that throughout the K-12 years. Someone who can be a living role model for every child in this country - no matter their race or economic situation.

President-elect Obama has elecrified the electorate and it remains to be seen if he can transfer his skill at campaign rhetoric into governance. K-12 education is in desperate need of reform. We need leadership to transform our schools and our country. An adept and skillful leader will not only set the tone of the future but will be able to bring all Americans onboard to repair the torn fabric of our major institutions by working together in a way we’ve not seen in decades.

Will it be easy? Of course not. It will take tremendous will and outstanding leadership. Are we up to the challenge? Of course we are. We’re Americans.

Yes we can.

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As we’ve discussed previously, one typical response to a challenging marketplace is to decrease the expenditures on advertising, promotion and other marketing tactics. In the new web-based economy, there are compelling reasons to disregard those internal calls to slash your marketing budget.

Web analytics, or the emerging discipline of eMetrics, provides companies reams of information about what is working and not working in their web strategies.

Fortunately for publishers, other B:B industries are out in front of K-12 publishing on this and can provide a lot of guidance as our industry starts down this path. A recent survey by eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit reveals that: Read the rest of this entry »

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