Baltimore County Public Schools Used in 270 Million Dollar Tech Experiment
As teachers in Detroit ask why their district spent 6 million dollars on a consulting contract when classrooms are overflowing and schools are in disrepair, citizens in Baltimore County are raising similar concerns over a 270 million technology initiative calledStudents and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (STAT).
The program, which aims to bring 1:1 digital learning to all students in the district, was initiated under Superintendent S. Dallas Dance.
Dance, who was recruited to Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) in 2012, has come under scrutiny before. Last spring, an administrative training company called SUPES Academy made headlines when it came to light that ex-Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett had awarded a 20 million dollar no-bid contract to the program where she once worked.
Dance, it turns out, did something similar. Just after awarding SUPES an 875 thousand dollar contract, he took a job with the company as a consultant. Byrd-Bennett – to whom Dance gave high praise in this article – has now stepped down from her role as CEO as SUPES and CPS undergo federal investigation. Dance has since given up the consulting job, and the BCPS contract with SUPES was left to expire.
Meanwhile, as the corporate-driven personalized, digital learning craze sweeps the country, Dance has jumped in headfirst and is Baltimore County Public Schools Used in 270 Million Dollar Tech Experiment – Save Maine Schools
