News

NewSchools Venture Fund Announces Early-Stage Education Technology Fund to Accelerate Student Achievement

San Francisco, CA—January 25, 2012—NewSchools Venture Fund today announced the creation of an Education Technology Seed Fund, a new initiative to invest in entrepreneurs developing education technology tools, applications, content, and services that will significantly improve education opportunities for children from low-income communities. The Seed Fund was created to make investments in early-stage, pre-Series A education technology companies often overlooked by the traditional investing community because of their focus on schools.  The […] 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

What Three Big EdTech Investments Say About The Future Of Education

This past week saw venture and private investors grabbing a pen to write checks to support three significant edtech trends: the move toward supporting Common Core standards, the use of “adaptive” learning technologies, and an increase in social media in education.The underlying theme, says Gloria Lee, chief operating officer of NewSchools Venture Fund, is about making education truly personalized for learners. “Tech tools that make it easier, faster, more effective—more personalized for […] Read more

NewSchools Venture Fund leads $1.1 Million funding round for MasteryConnect

MasteryConnect Gives Teachers Real-Time Data on Student Progress and Provides Free Tools for Teachers to Collaborate Around Common Core Standards; the Funding Round includes Learn Capital, Imagine K12, and Angel Investors San Francisco, CA—December 7, 2011—NewSchools Venture Fund today announced that MasteryConnect, an education technology company that seeks to support teachers in the transition to the Common Core by making it simple and easy for them to find, administer, score, and track student […] Read more

Initiative aims for 100,000 new STEM teachers

Partnership draws on member organizations’ expertise in recruiting and retaining talented educatorsA new national movement aims to increase the supply of math and science teachers and retain excellent teachers currently in U.S. classrooms by preparing 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next 10 years.Led by Carnegie Corporation of New York, Opportunity Equation, the NewSchools Venture Fund, and the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation, the 100Kin10 initiative was sparked by President Obama’s […] Read more

NewSchools Announces $3 Million in Grants for Expansion of Four High-Performing Boston Charter Schools

Boston, MA—November 9, 2011—NewSchools Venture Fund today announced grants totaling over $3 million to four growing charter school organizations in Boston, as part of its Boston Charter School Replication Fund. The funding includes grants to Edward W. Brooke Charter School, Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, Excel Academies, and MATCH Public Charter Schools, each of which opened at least one new school this fall.  The grants are the first investments from the Boston Charter […] Read more

Statement by Jim Peyser on the Mathematica Study of Charter Management Organizations

For a dozen years, since the founding of Aspire Public Schools, charter management organizations (CMOs) have been a vital force in improving public education in this country, especially in low-income communities. A new report by Mathematica Policy Research, represents the most thorough examination to date of the impact and practices of those organizations. Here’s what we learn from it:The headlines:The nation’s strongest CMOs are delivering extraordinary results for students and families. Students […] Read more

Grockit Raises $7 Million to Drive Social Learning

Previous Backers Lead Round; NewSchools Venture Fund and Michael Moe of GSV Capital  Make First Investments in GrockitSAN FRANCISCO, CA. (October 17, 2011) – Grockit, a social learning company, announced today that it has received just over $7 million in Series D venture funding led by Atlas Venture, a current investor in the company. Benchmark Capital and Integral Capital Partners, both return investors, also participated in the round, along with new investors NewSchools […] Read more

Bay Area Leading the Learning Revolution

Computers, then smart phones, then tablets changed how we engaged the world. Medical technology extended and entertainment technology enriched our lives. Energy saving technology made our lifestyles more sustainable. Bay Area entrepreneurs developed many of these disruptive technologies.New York and Boston are home to the publishers; metro D.C. is home to the giants of learning online. But the Bay Area is poised to lead the learning revolution.San Francisco is home to innovating […] Read more

Grockit Raises Money for Online Test Prep

About half of students who take the SAT do nothing to prepare. Grockit, an education start-up, wants to change that by making test prep social and taking it online.On Monday, Grockit announced that it raised $7 million in venture capital, for a total of $24 million, from GSV Capital and NewSchools Venture Fund, which invests philanthropic donations in education businesses and nonprofit organizations.[Read the entire post at The New York Times] Read more