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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

CA School Sells Data for Money to Cover Arne Duncan Visit | Truth in American Education

CA School Sells Data for Money to Cover Arne Duncan Visit | Truth in American Education:

CA School Sells Data for Money to Cover Arne Duncan Visit

Filed in Privacy/SLDS by  on December 4, 2013 • 0 Comments
Arne Duncan at Castle Park Middle School
Arne Duncan at Castle Park Middle School
The San Diego Reader reports that Castle Park Middle School in Chula Vista, CA (part ofSweetwater Union High School District) spent well over $17,000 in preparation for a visit last September by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  Apparently the district didn’t have the funds to cover the entire cost.  No worries, we have student data we can leverage for cash.
An excerpt:
Data-gathering has recently emerged as a primary concern for opponents of Common Core Standards and Common Core assessments. Federal laws governing privacy for student data were weakened in 2011. Across the nation, parents have expressed concern that student data will be shared with third parties.
Castle Park Middle School is a Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood school. Promise Neighborhoods are funded by the Department of Education and claim to offer “cradle to career” services. South Bay Community Services is the organization that oversees and distributes the $60 million government investment in Chula Vista.
On August 2 Principal Bleisch wrote to Alt: “By the way, FYI-SBCS [Promise Neighborhood/South Bay Community Services] is prepared to give my school a good chunk