Dive Summary:
- In 2010, schools spent about $7.5 million on software and digital content, according to a Software and Information Industry Association survey.
- Fellows from Code for America helped Boston to build an application for school selection last year, and the group has placed 26 fellows in eight different cities in 2012.
- The Tomah Area school system in Wisconsin and a national charter school network called Rocketship Education have also developed software in-house.
From the article:
About a year ago, the city of Boston was searching for a way to roll out a new school selection process. Traditionally, parents were sent a 28-page brochure outlining the criteria for choosing their children’s schools, or they could access a clunky website.
That same year, Boston had welcomed to its city offices a small group of fellows from Code for America, a new organization based in San Francisco that sends young computer programmers to work in government for a year, using their skills to help solve problems. ...