GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

A teacher who left the system to peddle a program he created to make up for shortcomings in the education department’s data system was fined this month by the city’s ethics board.

In 2009, Jesse Olsen was a teacher at Validus Preparatory Academy in the Bronx when he realized the school wasn’t accurately recording students’ attendance patterns. Realizing that the city’s school data clearinghouse, ARIS, couldn’t help, Olsen created a data system of his own, called Impact Solutions. The data system was one of several created around the same time by educators who were frustrated with ARIS.

By September 2010, Impact Solutions had already been picked up for use in 21 city schools, which were paying between $10 and $25 per student per year for the program, and Teach for America had started using it as well, we reported at the time.

Collecting those fees violated city ethics rules, the city’s Conflict of Interest Board ruled this month. The rules prohibit public employees from owning a business that contracts with their agencies and from using their positions to boost their business interests. Olsen violated both regulations when he began selling Impact Solutions to schools throughout the city, COIB ruled.

According to COIB’s report, Olsen didn’t learn that his business ran afoul of city rules until “in or around October 2010.” (more…)