represents a “return to the one-room schoolhouse” of the past, empowering parents to educate their children in intimate settings away from the cruel public-school bureaucracy.
And like the ride-sharing company, Prenda is exploiting gaps in regulation and oversight in the hopes of growing so fast and large that it alters the industry it seeks to disrupt. were driving their education rather than teachers. “Kids, when they make a decision that they want to learn something, are unstoppable,” he said.
It is impossible to know exactly how much public school funding has ended up in Prenda coffers because Prenda doesn’t hold a charter with the state.EdKey receives about $8,000 from the state for each student in its Sequoia Choice online charter school, said EdKey CEO Mark Plitzuweit. That is an obvious benefit to a company that had a $9 million long-term deficit in its last available audit.
tests. Prenda’s test scores, however, aren’t publicly available because they are combined with all Sequoia Online students."They can use us ... as partners in helping to make sure that these students have more school choice,” Plitzuweit said.But few give contractors the exclusive right to educate their students.
Prenda’s website lists 371 microschools in Arizona. The number has exploded from about 80 in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. If Prenda received the maximum amount from EdKey for each school, it would take in nearly $19 million annually in charter school public funds. and some parents were looking for alternatives to the traditional school setting. Since 2018, it has spent more than $100,000 on Facebook ads.Asked what the strategy was to become profitable, such as expanding as fast as possible or raising prices, Smith said “he didn’t have good answers.”State officials can’t regulate Prenda, in part, because they can’t decide what type of school it is or if it's a school at all.
Jim Hall, a former principal and founder of the group Arizonans for Charter School Accountability, filed a complaint with the Charter School Board contending that EdKey was illegally collecting state funds for average daily membership for Prenda students because EdKey wasn’t educating them.The complaint alleged EdKey was transferring state funds to a private school, Prenda, that doesn’t provide services.
Parents certify hours outside of the microschool because “learning isn’t an activity that is confined to a particular place and time.” Public schools get less money while providing a comprehensive education for anyone who walks in the door — special education, tutoring, counseling, electives and extracurricular activities, he said.noting they are often used by homeschooling parents.
Sounds awesome!
Excellent.
Sounds awesome!
It's a shame the reporter only spoke to one unhappy parent (who also didn't like her public school or other private schools) and not any of the thousands of happy prendalearn parents. People can learn more about the amazing work Prenda is doing here: