Breaking News: Internal Report Says L.A. iPad Purchase Was Poorly Planned, Deeply Flawed

From Diane Ravitch’s blog

Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times reported today the leaked results of an investigation of the district’s plan to purchase $1 billion of iPads loaded with Pearson curriculum.

It begins:

“The groundbreaking effort to provide an iPad to every Los Angeles student, teacher and school administrator was beset by inadequate planning, a lack of transparency and a flawed bidding process, according to the draft of an internal school district report obtained by The Times.”

“The bidding process — and events leading up to it — were singled out for particular criticism. The report concludes that the district needlessly limited its options on price and product, and raises questions about whether the process was fair.”

The story points out that the instructional leader of the district, Jaime Aquino, previously worked for Pearson, and that Pearson’s foundation underwrote the cost of a conference for 50 district employees in Palm Desert, where each received a gift iPad for “district use.”

Read the entire post>>