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News Release – NewSchools Recognizes Top Entrepreneurs and Innovators for their Contributions to Public Education

Burlingame, Calif. – April 29, 2014 – NewSchools Venture Fund (www.newschools.org), a nonprofit venture philanthropy firm that partners with entrepreneurs to provide all students with an excellent public education and the promise of a bright future, announces the recipients of its 2014 Awards. Since 2002, NewSchools has celebrated the achievements of social innovators in its portfolio by presenting annual awards to outstanding entrepreneurs and organizations.

John King, Common Core Warrior

For New York State Education Commissioner, John King implementing the Common Core State Standards isn’t about politics, it isn’t a game, these standards matter! Just to get is straight, CCSS are not curricula and they do not determine what students should read or how teachers should teach. They are simply a set of standards, developed by The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to set goals for what students should know at the end of each grade. These new standards will set a higher bar for students, allow for a greater emphasis on higher-level thinking and encourage a more in-depth understanding of materials — in short, CCSS will place the United States back in line with other top performing nations and the new economy.

Treating Trauma in Our Schools

Dr. Dorado is the Co-Founder and Director of UCSF Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS), a program that aims to promote school success for children and adolescents who have experienced complex trauma. She is an Associate Clinical Professor in the UCSF-SFGH Dept. of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Services (CAS). She is well-positioned to combine the brain science behind the effects of toxic stress with actionable steps to help children deal with these events in their lives.

The Struggle for Equal Justice

Bryan Stevenson has been working to address these questions about equality for over 25 years. He has experienced racial injustice firsthand during his own childhood in segregated rural Delaware. At Harvard Law School he encountered a privileged class who had never been forced to wrestle with the full tragedy of America’s racial history.

About NewSchools and Summit

So, you’ve decided to attend NewSchools Venture Fund Summit 2014. We are so pleased to welcome you to our community! We’ve put together this short post to answer some frequently asked questions and to help you make the most of your time at Summit.

Everything You Need to Know for Summit

We are so excited to see you at Summit next week! The NewSchools Summit team is working around the clock to ensure a great experience for you. In anticipation of your visit, we’ve compiled some practical advice for making your way through the day.

BrightBytes Expands Educational Footprint: Raises $15 Million to Fuel Growth and Innovation

Bessemer Venture Partners funds BrightBytes’ rapid talent growth and expansion to international markets SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2014  BrightBytes, a fast-growing educational analytics organization that counts almost 1 in 10 U.S. schools as customers, announced today that it closed $15 million in Series B funding to accelerate its impressive growth and global expansion. The investment was led by Bessemer […]

co.lab, the Edtech Accelerator Founded by NewSchools Venture Fund and Zynga.org, Announces Second Cohort

SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2014—co.lab, the edtech accelerator created by Zynga.org and NewSchools Venture Fund focused on developing innovative learning games, announced today a second cohort of companies for its four-month program. The accelerator, which launched in September 2013, recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort, which included Kidaptive, Locomotive Labs, Motion Math, Pluto Media and Edmodo. The second cohort includes seven cutting-edge companies uniquely poised to expand and deepen their impact on academic and social outcomes for children around the world.