Education

NC superintendent: Reading company will train teachers for free during 'ridiculous DIT review'

Istation, a company chosen to test North Carolina students' reading skills, has agreed to continue training teachers and assessing students for free while the state reviews the company's controversial new multimillion dollar contract.

Posted Updated

By
Kelly Hinchcliffe
, WRAL education reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Istation, a company chosen to test North Carolina students' reading skills, has agreed to continue training teachers and assessing students for free while the state reviews the company's controversial new multimillion dollar contract.

North Carolina Superintendent Mark Johnson made the announcement Tuesday, saying that he "signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Istation to provide clarity for North Carolina’s schools." Johnson said he wants to ensure that educators can continue using the tool "rather than lose valuable time due to the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s irresponsible decision" to put the contract on hold last week.

"Istation believes in supporting public education in North Carolina so much, they have agreed to continue training teachers at no additional cost during this ridiculous DIT review,” Johnson said in a statement.

The company has trained more than 4,000 educators, enrolled nearly 400,000 students, and assessed more than 12,500 students statewide since Johnson awarded the contract in June.

Despite Johnson's assurances that schools can continue using Istation, some school leaders say they are awaiting the results of DIT's review. Durham Public Schools' spokesman Chip Sudderth said Tuesday the district is "pausing our use of the tool" until the review is complete. Wake County public schools' spokeswoman Lisa Luten said the district planned to start training teachers on Istation in September, but that plan is up in the air while the state's review is ongoing.

DIT Secretary Eric Boyette agreed to put the contract on hold last week after Istation's competitor, Amplify, requested the review. Amplify has tested North Carolina K-3 students' reading skills since 2013 and has protested the state superintendent's decision to award the contract to Istation.

Johnson's decision prompted some educators and Senate Democrats to call for an investigation and review of why he selected Istation over Amplify. Some educators expressed frustration that Istation tests students' reading skills using computers and said the new program will result in increased screen time and reduced human interaction for students.

Johnson has repeatedly said he believes Istation is the best product for North Carolina students, teachers and parents and blamed the controversy on "the establishment political system" that prefers more of the same instead of change. Johnson also criticized the DIT and accused the agency of improperly handling the review and failing to respond to him. 

"NC DIT improperly issued what could be considered a pause on the reading diagnostic contract last week that ignored the basic concept of due process and was done counter to their own rules and processes," Johnson wrote. "The only party to this challenge that was heard by DIT was the losing vendor as [the N.C. Department of Public Instruction] was not given its proper chance to respond before DIT lawyers put a legally-suspect stay in place. While having found plenty of time to respond to the press, DIT has refused to respond to repeated questions from DPI. "

DIT spokeswoman Nicole Meister said the agency cannot comment as it goes through the administrative review process. She previously told WRAL News that DIT "recognizes that it is in the best interest of all parties and NC taxpayers to resolve this matter and has made it a top priority to do so."

Istation CEO Ossa Fisher said her company agreed to continue working with educators for free while the review takes place so "North Carolina and Istation can hit the ground running as soon as this frivolous legal challenge is put to rest."

"Neither DPI nor Istation have received a response from DIT concerning our requests for an emergency hearing on the stay, which was imposed without due process," Fisher wrote. "Due to this uncertainty, we have agreed to work with DPI, educators, parents, and students without pay until the issues surrounding the stay are resolved."

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