Silicon Valley parents push schools to cut back on classroom tech (opens the source in a new tab)
- Bay Area tech workers are paying for screen-light schooling, the Guardian reports: San Francisco Waldorf, two miles from Anthropic's headquarters, charges $40,000 a year for kindergarten, and many new families work in tech.
- Parents are pushing public districts too. San Mateo has stopped sending Chromebooks home with pupils up to second grade and bans high schoolers' phones; Mountain View is moving away from the i-Ready program and Palo Alto bans smart glasses.
- Experts warn poorer districts may keep the screens richer ones drop, while school-choice vouchers move public money to private schools.
- $40,000
- yearly kindergarten fee, SF Waldorf
- 81%
- teachers say pupils get screens by kindergarten (NYT survey, 2025)
Why it matters The people who build the platforms are opting out for their own children, a strong signal about what the tech does well and badly. The risk is two tiers: human-led teaching for families who can pay or push, screens standing in for staff everywhere else.
Other side Good tools can personalise practice and fill gaps where teachers are scarce, and the parents' main ask is evidence and vetting, not a blanket ban. A few wealthy districts may not speak for families who rely on school devices.