tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post3138931464362118068..comments2024-03-22T02:15:56.280-07:00Comments on Jersey Jazzman: Chris Cerf's Final Spin: Mt. OliveDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-58682721058297589402014-03-03T07:24:20.792-08:002014-03-03T07:24:20.792-08:00As soon as I see: ""I can’t say with any...As soon as I see: ""I can’t say with any measure of certainty", "He says he is unaware,""Cerf said he doesn’t know","Cerf implied he didn't know", "he didn't know", I "know" that he must have read the Ronald Reagan play book on selective amnesia. I kind of think his boss, "The Governor", has also read the same book! http://teachersdontsuck.blogspot.com/ http://wsautter.com/walt sautterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271157042842858883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-71645624012887081102014-03-02T19:14:58.628-08:002014-03-02T19:14:58.628-08:00Steve, can I confirm this is really you? Email me ...Steve, can I confirm this is really you? Email me at the address in the left-hand column, if you would. Thanks.Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-1856614678568025062014-03-02T18:50:56.402-08:002014-03-02T18:50:56.402-08:00I am currently president of the Education Associat...I am currently president of the Education Association of Mt. Olive, and can tell you that Mr. Cerf has been to our district at least twice since the inception of the Amplify program and has seen it in action--or not, as it is down more often than it works--so his contention that he is unaware of any districts using the program is unmitigated fantasy.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10462211852877006864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-47105211194467995582014-03-02T14:02:41.517-08:002014-03-02T14:02:41.517-08:00Hadn't read your revolving door post yet, so m...Hadn't read your revolving door post yet, so my wording is a bit off - maybe you're not accusing him of anything in violation of NJ law, as written, but you're definitely accusing the man of unethical behavior. <br /><br />I think it's quite a stretch - a laughable stretch - to call NJ's education system a revolving door.<br /><br />Look at Obama's Council of Economic Advisers - some from industry, some from government. Is that a revolving door? You want people with a variety of backgrounds. And you want the press and the media scrutinizing their behavior. I ask again: what evidence do you have that Cerf has done anything remotely wrong in his interactions with Amplify? The fact that some districts in the state use it is <i>anything</i> but evidence - schools all over the place use it.<br /><br />Re: Wireless Gen, I encourage you to read about their background.<br /><br />http://www.wkkf.org/what-we-do/featured-work/wireless-generation<br /><br />I'm not very familiar with what happened after they got the contract - it looks like there was some fuss this summer? ARIS is certainly not universally loved, but it is telling that the statewide system that is coming online is based on it:<br /><br />http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120730/new-york-city/citys-80m-student-data-system-be-replaced-by-state-portal<br /><br />City officials said the state's federal application specifically cited ARIS as a template that it wanted to expand statewide.<br /><br />"The state’s system is modeled on ARIS, and we are working with them closely on its development," Hughes said.<br /><br />Also re: ARIS - when I taught in NYC the system was a legacy product called ATS (Automate the Schools). ARIS was a huge step forward from that.<br />almhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07420465709926105665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-58089966772389001382014-03-02T12:35:32.134-08:002014-03-02T12:35:32.134-08:00alm: your post deserves a complete response, which...alm: your post deserves a complete response, which I will try to get to soon. But for now, here's a graph from the post above:<br /><br />"Let's stop a minute and regroup. There is nothing wrong with a school district giving a contract to a tech provider. There's a nothing wrong with using tech in the classroom; I do it all the time, and I'll be the first to admit it's the wave of the future. I don't know the Amplify products from squat: maybe they're fantastic (although I will always be wary of anything that comes out of the same corporate mothership as Fox News and the NY Post)."<br /><br />And from my previous post that I link to here:<br /><br />"Chris Cerf's shuffling between the private and public sectors is perfectly legal and perfectly normal; that, of course, is exactly the problem."<br /><br />So, no, I didn't imply or state otherwise anyone broke any laws - in fact, quite the opposite. As I said explicitly, this is all perfectly legal.<br /><br />And that's the problem. More later.Dukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16535645107179796099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-46423228058754539252014-03-02T10:28:02.870-08:002014-03-02T10:28:02.870-08:00"... Wireless Generation - really innovative ..."... Wireless Generation - really innovative and well respected." Really?<br />From Bob Braun:<br />"Amplify is the new name given to Wireless Generation, a Brooklyn consulting firm best known in New Jersey for the $500,000 it received in consulting fees to put together the state’s application for $400 million in Race to the Top money. The application was denied because of clerical errors and some New Jersey legislators blamed Wireless Generation’s work and demanded it return the fee." Wireless Generation, it seems, is not so well respected in NJ.<br />http://bobbraunsledger.com/cerfs-amplify-gets-2-3-million-from-newark/Giuseppehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03418801372998968620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-43185758475555007472014-03-02T09:24:52.279-08:002014-03-02T09:24:52.279-08:00Jazzman - Cerf worked for Klein in NYC. Amplify is...Jazzman - Cerf worked for Klein in NYC. Amplify is the former Wireless Generation - really innovative and well respected. They built ARIS for NYC after IBM botched the initial work. Founded by two Rhodes scholars. Super impressive organization.<br /><br />So of course they stay in touch - "fended off for quite some time" no doubt means that Cerf heard about exciting things happening in the world of edtech - which, as you point out, is a hotbed of innovation right now.<br /><br />Amplify publishes the Core Knowledge series for elementary and middle ELA - huge research base and a very exciting new product. Any NJ school evaluating their literacy program in 2014 would consider it.<br /><br />So the scandal here is...what, exactly? Where in the equation is something improper happening? Some people who know Cerf adopted a literacy program headed by somebody who also knows Cerf? I mean, take a look at any random LinkedIn page - people in the professional communities network with each other. <br /><br />Do you have any evidence that these contracts were improperly bid? If you don't, stop implying that people broke laws - those are serious allegations.almhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07420465709926105665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025948832913694345.post-67230880703208999752014-03-02T08:43:58.166-08:002014-03-02T08:43:58.166-08:00Larrie Reynolds is the superintendent of Mt. Olive...Larrie Reynolds is the superintendent of Mt. Olive schools and he represents GEMS Education, as a consultant.<br /> AND he is president of Sangari Active Science, a subsidiary of Sangari Global Education, a company once run by Cerf. Reynolds also headed Newton Learning. Call me crazy but conflict of interest and self serving double, (triple) dipping come to mind. Giuseppehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03418801372998968620noreply@blogger.com