GreatSchools.org Appoints a New Chief Executive Officer

Jon Deane will lead GreatSchools.org in supporting parents across the country

OAKLAND, CA (February 1, 2019) — GreatSchools today announced education leader Jon Deane will become its new Chief Executive Officer. Jon will take charge at the nation’s leading nonprofit organization reaching America’s parents with essential information on education. Last year, over 43 million users came to GreatSchools.org to understand how schools are serving their children based on multiple measures of quality and for parenting support content to help guide the educational success of their child. Jon comes to GreatSchools after a long track-record as a leader in education innovation, most recently at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where he served as Director of Education. (more…)

GreatSchools Data for Parent Action Convening

December 19, 2018 — In November, GreatSchools convened leading researchers and parent empowerment organizations for a full-day discussion about the barriers parents face and the promising ways to use school and student-level data to power parent action. (more…)

Instead of School Supplies Give Parents a List of What Their Kids Need to Succeed

Originally published on EducationPost.org

August 17, 2018 — Last August I was visiting family in Oregon when I walked into a supermarket and by the front door saw a large sign that read in eye-catching print: “Give Kids The Tools They Need to Succeed.” The sign proceeds to list the “tools for success”: pencils, scissors, markers, glue sticks, erasers, crayons, colored pencils, notebook paper and hand sanitizer. (more…)

Why High School Best Practices No Longer Need To Be Best-Kept Secrets

Originally published on Forbes.com

July 5, 2018 — Last week I attended a graduation ceremony at a local high school. In the waning sunlight, the sea of beaming faces on the field struck me with a mixture of hope and sadness. Hope because these kids seemed positively brimming with optimism, sadness because I knew the data. It was a typical American high school, so most of its graduates were not set up for success. In a country where all evidence shows that a college education is the most reliable path to a better life, only about 30% of our youth end up getting a four- or two-year degree. (more…)