For Teacher Transactions, The Devil’s in the Details
EdTech Digest Feature
Jamie Rosenberg knew that getting funding to teachers and schools and tracking it, was much harder than it should be. Here’s what he did about it.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero on EdTech Digest
No stranger to education technology, Jamie Rosenberg has launched two successful technology companies in the space. His journey from mergers and acquisitions lawyer to social entrepreneur is a living example of how one person can change the world. He is the Founder and CEO of ClassWallet, a leading funds management and tracking platform for school systems which boasts some of the largest organizations in the country as customers; it is a platform transforming how education dollars are spent providing more accountability and transparency.
Jamie’s first company, AdoptAClassroom.org, which he launched in 1998, is one of the first crowdfunding sites on the Internet, and the first national online platform for education philanthropy. Through AdoptAClassroom.org, Jamie partnered donors with classrooms raising over $25M for teachers in 30% of schools in America, and improving the learning environment for 3.5M students.
Jamie has been featured in numerous publications such as Time and Parade magazines, and newspapers across the country. CBS aired a national program hosted by Vanessa Williams about Jamie’s accomplishments in 2013. He has been a featured speaker or panelist for the Future of Education Finance Summit, Education Industry Association, ASU GSV Conference, Florida International University Center for Social Entrepreneurship, National PTA Conference, National School Boards Association Conference, and Social Venture Capital/Social Enterprise Conference.
“Teachers don’t have the time to manage cash, checks, receipts and forms,” says Jamie. What his platform does is streamlines manual, time-intensive tasks of collecting receipts, reconciling invoices, and making vendor and reimbursement payments by digitizing and automating those processes for you.
“School district and school administrators, education foundations, and PTAs spend a ridiculous amount of time reconciling paperwork and receipts even for the smallest of transactions, and stress about the audit each year,” he says.
“The understanding and obsession with solving this problem is what makes us tick. We know that if we can simplify the incredibly frustrating process of solving for classroom needs, our students will be smarter, and administrators and teachers will all be happier.”
What is your view about the role of technology in education these days?
Jamie: These days technology allows for many things. Where we see it shine is in allowing processes (such as requesting supplies for teachers) to be streamlined and automated. Educators can then focus on teaching, and what matters instead of wasting time with purchase orders and bureaucratic red tape that can tie educators’ hands.
Up to 50% of teachers leave the profession after five years. With a 50% churn, what is the cost of training?
Read the rest of the interview over at EdTech Digest! https://edtechdigest.com/2018/10/18/for-teacher-transactions-the-devils-in-the-details