Mineola school board votes to investigate rollout of learning program

The Mineola school board has tapped an Albany law firm to investigate the rollout of a since-suspended mandatory learning program for eighth graders developed by the district superintendent and his son’s company.

All eighth graders at Mineola High School were required to enroll in the digital program, Build Your Own Grade Learning Management System, in September.

Following backlash from parents, the district suspended the program, which was developed by Quave, a company founded by superintendent Michael Nagler and his son James, who attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Newsday reported earlier this week.

“The board’s immediate focus is on the questions surrounding the digital learning management system, its development, data privacy safeguards and any applicable procurement and contracting requirements,” school board president Cheryl Lampasona read from a prepared statement immediately before the board’s unanimous vote Thursday evening to retain counsel.

“These are serious matters that require an objective and thorough review,” Lampasona said.

Once Albany-based Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP completes its work, she said, the school board “will share the findings with the community as appropriate.” The program, which officials and residents alike referred to Thursday as “BYOG,” will remain suspended during this review.

Many parents who spoke at the meeting in the high school auditorium called the implementation of the program a conflict of interest for Nagler. The first to speak during the public comments period called for the superintendent’s suspension during the investigation. Audience members applauded and cheered her request.

Other district parents who spoke charged that the rollout of the program — which consists of viewing videos and accomplishing tasks on iPads — violates their children’s data privacy and the Federal Trade Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, as well as increases their screentime. A few speakers noted that following an investigation into the program, they would feel comfortable with the program being optional for students, rather than required.

During a presentation at the meeting, Nagler said the school district started the program to address a “poor correlation” between the grades students receive on their report cards and on their New York State Regents exams. It is designed “to take the mystery out of how a grade is calculated” and to hold teachers accountable, Nagler added.

Ahead of the presentation, Nagler read a prepared statement, in which he said that a year of planning resulted in “a failed implementation of our BYOG initiative, and for that I am truly sorry.” He further apologized to parents who were “upset.”

“After 25 years of service to this district, I’ve somehow become the enemy, and I’m sorry for that as well,” Nagler added. “I’m currently reflecting on how that transpired. My intention is and always has been to advocate for kids, ensure their experience in school is more enjoyable and properly prepare them for the world they will enter.”

The school board received “a significant amount of correspondence” from parents raising concerns regarding data privacy and the program’s instructional model, Lampasona said at the meeting.

She added that parents found the program’s namesake concept of building grades up from zero throughout their school terms “confusing or discouraging for students” compared to “the more traditional system of starting from 100 and losing points through the term.”

Neither Lampasona nor other board members commented on Nagler’s involvement in the program or whether his role represents a conflict of interest.

An online petition with more than 600 signatures as of Thursday evening states that the program “not only hinders [students’] learning but also strips away any sense of accomplishment or success.”

While outside counsel conducts the investigation, district administrators and educators along with the board will address “concerns about instruction and grading,” Lampasona said. She added: “More information will follow as plans are refined.”

Nagler did not immediately return an emailed request from Newsday for comment late Thursday.

Nagler said the program was designed to bolster “intrinsic motivation” among high schoolers.

“We’re trying to find solutions to clear problems,” he added in his presentation, including “trying to take the mystery out of how a grade is calculated.”