Bytes & Books 2013 Inaugural Ball

As sumptuous party venues go, it’s hard to beat the Folger Shakespeare Library. A long hall with vaulted ceilings that’s filled with Elizabethan artifacts gives way to a richly appointed library graced by a bust of the Bard and a huge stain glassed window. 

The library gets rented out for many A-list Washington gatherings. But Monday evening, it was occupied by a set unused to being fetted in high style—public school teachers, administrators, and their advocates. The Bytes & Books ball honored educators for their efforts to put technology into classrooms. The noted guests included school board association executives, Obama administration officials, and a former executive director of the National Education Association. Representative George Miller of California was singled out for his support of education technology.  

The ball was put on by the National Coalition for Technology in Education & Training. It’s a non-partisan group, but there were a lot of vocal Obama supporters in the room. The National Education Association was the top sponsor. 

After a cocktail hour in the main hall, guests were treated to a buffet dinner in the library that featured roast pork, beef, and (something we didn’t see anywhere in town this weekend) a mac and cheese bar with toppings, including fried onions, bacon, and pulled BBQ pork. Shakespeare wrote, “A surfeit of the sweetest things the deepest loathing to the stomach brings.” He didn’t have a pork and mac and cheese bar. 

Shane Harris