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University of Michigan strives to lead the way in rethinking colleges of education

PHILADELPHIA, PA. – Here’s a irony: University of Michigan, one of the nation’s premier research universities, is a national leader in pushing teacher-training programs out of the realm of theory to put considerably more emphasis on practical. hands-on experience.And it’s a change that’s badly needed, several experts agreed at the annual convention of the  Education Writers Association, which is being held this week in Philadelphia.Ted Mitchell, president of the NewSchools Venture Fund and former […] Read more

High school coder gets $3M for his gradebook software, 10-years later

Classroom-management software company Engrade has closed a $3 million round of funding, just ten years after its creation by a high school student.Company founder Bri Holt developed an online gradebook in 2003, while he was still a high schooler. While I was chasing boys and trying to pass algebra, Holt was developing software that would eventually lead to a business. He now serves as the chief technology expert for Engrade.[Read the full story at […] Read more

Engrade Grabs $3M From Wireless Generation Co-founder To Help Teachers Manage Their Classrooms

As a high school student in 2003, Bri Holt found himself increasingly frustrated by the fact that there was no easy way for he and his classmates to view their grades online. So, being familiar with the wizardry of web development, Holt decided to build his own, laying the foundations for what would become Engrade. While Holt went on to other projects, over the next seven-odd years, his simple, free online gradebook slowly […] Read more

Social Entrepreneurs Try to Offer Solutions to K-12 Problems

Competition for financial backing is intense…“These people are fueled by passion, drive, and commitment, and we can see evidence of their work all over the educational landscape,” Jennifer Carolan, the seed fund co-director at the NewSchools Venture Fund, based in Oakland, Calif., said of social entrepreneurs. “They’re making meaningful social change—we often say they’re trying to scratch their own itch—and putting pressure on the existing entrenched system to start doing the same.”The […] Read more

Goalbook – Social IEPs for everyone? Actually, yes

Goalbook could revolutionize how we approach differentiated instruction and outcome-based education.Four of my five kids have been on IEPs (Individual Education Plans) at one point or another. Two of them still are and I have little doubt that my youngest will be too once she hits school. She’s only two, but she’s already dropping her s’s just like her brothers did. I don’t have a problem with this. To be honest, everyone […] Read more

Potential Benefits for Education Startups Seen in U.S. Bill

Congress last week passed a bill that makes it easier for startup companies to raise capital and go public, two oft-cited barriers for new ventures looking to enter the education market.….A ‘New Resource’Formal and informal mechanisms are already in place for early-stage companies to raise money. In education, the NewSchools Venture Fund, based in San Francisco, for instance, invests in companies that may be too risky for venture capitalists. It is financed […] Read more

LearnZillion, One of the Scrappy Startups Making D.C. a Hotspot

A new Washington, D.C., incubator, The Fort, debuted its first cohort of startups today. TechCruchnotes, “The program, which gives founders anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 in seed capital, was lured to the area from nearby Arlington thanks to a $100,000 grant from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.”The D.C. metro area is home to many of the first gen eLearning giants: Blackboard, Connections, Discovery, Kaplan, and K12. Later this month Mayor Grey will visit […] Read more

The Educators

Christina Hall and Jennifer Green work to train better prepared, better informed city teachers.“Staggering.” That’s the word Jennifer Green uses. And she repeats it: “It’s staggering to realize you have students who have made it to the eleventh grade without being able to decode words on a page.”…The problem that UTC seeks to solve, says Julie Mikuta, a partner at the San Francisco-based NewSchools Venture Fund, which provided $1.9 million in startup […] Read more

NewSchools Venture Fund Launches Education Technology Seed Fund

The NewSchools Venture Fund in San Francisco has announced the launch of a fund that will provide support to entrepreneurs working to develop education technology tools, applications, content, and services designed to improve opportunities for children from low-income communities.Unlike NewSchools’s Innovation Fund, which invests in organizations based on their potential to influence broader systems, the Education Technology Seed Fund will provide money, guidance, and advice to early stage companies in the educational tools marketplace.[Read the full article […] Read more

PIE Network Welcomes Three Leading Education Reformers to Board of Directors

Three of the country’s top education reformers have joined the Board of Directors of the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network, which supports and connects 34 advocacy groups working to improve education across the country.The new board members are:Denis Calabrese, president of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation in Houston, known for its major contributions to K–12 education reform. He is a public policy and communications expert who has advised government and corporate leaders […] Read more