Should Facebook Institute See Children's School Data?

WOONSOCKET, RI — Should Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan be able to see data about youngsters at Woonsocket Middle School at Villanova? Some parents, such as Laura Beauregard, say no. Her daughter is a seventh-grade honors student at the middle school. But on Sunday, she says, school officials notified her that Emily's pod would be participating with the personalized learning pilot, the Summit Learning Program, which is backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Beauregard objects to Summit and wants Emily to continue in a traditional classroom.

In fact, she said, she and other parents have already told the assistant superintendent they don't want their children involved with Summit.

"I do not want FB in possession of my daughter's educational data," said Beauregard, who is connected with Concerned Parents of WMS. She anticipated she would know more after Parents' Night on Wednesday. Many parents are attending, and the Summit Program spokespeople are expected to make a presentation. But Beauregard feels the Summit Program, which is a pilot, is untested. Also, other districts have had issues with it.

The school principal and superintendent did not immediately return Patch's calls about the situation. But the office staff and the state education department spokeswoman deny the schools are forcing anyone to take the Summit Learning Program. Moreover, Meg Geoghegan said, Rhode Island has no policy which advocates the use of Summit Learning. The state does have Lighthouse Schools, which espouse personalized learning, she said. But Woonsocket Middle School at Villanova is not one of them. She could not say if other Rhode Island schools are using the Summit Learning Program.

Beauregard was not specific about the issues cited by other districts, but a quick review over the Internet shows Education Week last month wrote a piece about two districts which have dealt with parents' complaints and cut back the program. Some of the criticisms may reflect misunderstandings, school officials said. Other articles say parents have specifically objected to too much computer screen time, too little contact with teachers, questionable course content, such as sexually explicit art from Ancient Greece and Rome and a Muslim religious ceremony which started with a prayer. They also suspect the content is not connected to the curriculum.