What’s the Future of Innovation in Education? 

For as long as there have been people, there have been folks predicting what the future might hold. And, recently at NewSchools, our team spent a whole day considering that very question, with respect to innovation in education. For part of the day we had a special guest, renowned author Steven Johnson, to help fuel our imaginations. It was great to engage in a wide-ranging conversation about Johnson’s research on the history of innovation, its implications for […]

Guest Post: Turning the Tassel – The Student Who Changed My Life

Guest Post by Oliver Sicat, CEO of Ednovate Graduation is always a special time for me as a school leader. At Ednovate, our mission is to educate high school students who will use their college degrees and careers to enact Positive Multigenerational Change in their communities, nation and world. There are currently three schools in […]

Live From Summit 2017: Parent Power: Building Movements to Win

We knew we wanted to showcase parent voices at Summit 2017, so we spent the previous eight months engaging parent networks. And when we planned the agenda, we put their stories center stage in our Lunch Plenary. This approach more than paid off – the powerful parent stories stole the show. The session opened with a video about Shaylean Hester, a […]

Live From Summit 2017: How to Personalize Learning with Rigor and High Expectations

Bethany Gross, a senior research analyst and research director at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) moderated this thought-provoking session. Joining her as panelists were charter school founders Erin Mote of Brooklyn Lab Charter School, Oliver Sicat of Ednovate and Kyle Smitley of Detroit Achievement Academy, and Assistant Superintendent, April Madden of Henry County […]

Announcing our NewSchools Invent 2017 Cohort…and the Fantastic Journey to Find Them  

Two years ago we launched NewSchools Invent. We wanted to invest in teams of educators who are reimagining learning, and looking to launch innovative public schools in school districts and charter networks. To create the future they want for themselves, we believe young people need a strong academic foundation along with other important mindsets, skills […]

Announcing the NewSchools Ignite Special Education Challenge

We’re excited to announce the NewSchools Ignite: Special Education Challenge, which opens today.  This challenge – the fourth in the NewSchools Ignite series – is open to entrepreneurs developing engaging, technology-enabled learning experiences, instructional content, assessments, administrative tools, and other digital products that support students with disabilities in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Applications are open […]

News Release – Got an Idea for an Ed Tech Tool to Support Special Education? NewSchools Ignite Might Fund it!

Contact: Debbie Veney   dveney@newschools.org | 415-375-8262 Elly Stolnitz   estolnitz@newschools.org | 415-371-6034   Announcing up to $1.5 million in new funding opportunities for ed tech entrepreneurs (Oakland, CA, February 16, 2017) — NewSchools Venture Fund is excited to announce the launch of its next ed tech funding opportunity: the NewSchools Ignite Special Education Challenge.  This challenge […]

A Prediction for the New Year – The Power of Innovative Schools

Late last year, with our CEO Stacey Childress, I co-authored a paper called “Reimagining Learning: A Big Bet on the Future of American Education.”  An overview of the report is posted on EdSurge, in a piece penned by Stacey. In it, the “Reimagining Learning” paper is framed as a prediction for the future of education […]

Now’s the Time to Reimagine Learning

And, if you think so, too…we should be talking. NewSchools invests in the most creative ideas and supports visionary leaders with the potential to reshape the learning experience to help every student reach his or her highest aspirations. That’s why today we are announcing nearly $7 million in funding opportunities across our three investment areas. […]