Virtual School Tours: Providing Parents with Greater Access to Compare School Quality
By David Pickens, Executive Director, DC School Reform Now This time of year in Washington, DC, is public school application season. Parents interested in applying to traditional out-of-boundary or charter public schools are busy learning about which schools would be a good fit for their child. A couple years ago, we at DC School Reform […]
Welcoming Ellevation to the NewSchools Portfolio
NewSchools Venture Fund is pleased to welcome Ellevation Education to our portfolio!
Ellevation provides a set of tools for teachers and administrators who work with English language learners (ELLs). It saves time and simplifies compliance requirements, so that educators can focus on their most important task—helping ELL students to succeed.
A closer look at K12 edtech venture funding part II
Learners from ages zero to eighteen have a lot to be excited about. In the last 365 days, 74 companies focused on the K12 demographic (both in and out of school) have been funded by venture backers for a total of $427 million[1]. At the Seed Fund, we participated in 13 of these and got […]
‘Tis the season
“If we want America to lead in the 21st century, nothing is more important than giving everyone the best education possible — from the day they start preschool to the day they start their career.” —President Barack Obama We all know that our school system needs help. That our kids are not prepared well in […]
Introducing Jason Singer, our new entrepreneur-in-residence
Almost a year ago nearly to the day, at an edtech holiday party, I met Jason Singer, who shared his idea for an interactive e-reader with me. I was hoping he would act on his idea but as principal of KIPP King Collegiate High School and with a young family at home, I knew he […]
Forbes’ Top Education “Disruptors”
FORBES NAMES NEWSCHOOLS’ CEO TED MITCHELL AS ONE OF 15 EDUCATION INNOVATORS FORBES’ PICKS FOR INVESTING IN EDUCATION Forbes Magazine has singled out NewSchools’ CEO Ted Mitchell on its list of 15 “education disruptors”—innovators who are making a difference, bringing new ideas that help to make education better. (Among the other honorees are two entrepreneurs […]
Education Entrepreneurs: Simmons Lettre and Carrie Irvin
A year ago, a Charter Board Partners “team meeting” meant co-founders Simmons Lettre and Carrie Irvin gathering around Carrie’s kitchen table. Today, their seven-person team serves over 30% of DC’s charter schools by providing customized support on charter school governance. Their theory of action is simple yet powerful—great boards will lead to great schools. As […]
Education Entrepreneurs: Eric Westendorf and Alix Guerrier
Having played sports for most of my life I’d consider myself a master of the “high-fives” – there wasn’t one I hadn’t tried. That is, until I met LearnZillion co-founders Eric Westendorf and Alix Guerrier who introduced me to their aptly named “aggressive high-five.” My first encounter with the aggressive high-five came this past June […]
NewSchools Presents: Bill Jackson, GreatSchools
In 1998, Kim Smith, a student at Stanford Graduate School of Business, teamed up with famed venture capitalist John Doerr and Brook Byers to build an organization whose mission was to transform education by supporting education entrepreneurs. The trio recognized that entrepreneurs had revolutionized the fields of science, medicine, and technology, and wanted to bring […]
NewSchools Presents: Alexandra Bernadotte and Scott Given
When we invited education entrepreneurs to tell their stories in our Story Booth at NewSchools Summit 2011 earlier this year we were completely unprepared for the response we received. We heard from a diverse group of social innovators, fiercely dedicated to improving public education for all children. They spoke the experiences which led them to […]