PowerMyLearning Awarded a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Grant
(San Jose, CA) November 15, 2016—PowerMyLearning, a national education nonprofit, today announced that it has been awarded a four-year grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. This grant will allow PowerMyLearning to dramatically expand its personalized learning and family support initiatives, focused on supporting San Francisco Bay Area public schools in under-served communities.
For 17 years, PowerMyLearning has used its approach to help teachers and families team up to support students as they meet the challenges of high academic standards and develop ownership of their learning. PowerMyLearning’s approach leverages technology to facilitate deeper learning, providing support to educators, students, and families to ensure each has the tools necessary to effectively engage in the learning process.
PowerMyLearning’s partnerships with under-served public schools foster growth in teachers as instructional leaders, helping them better understand and implement technology in their classrooms, while also providing a clear role for parents to meaningfully engage in their children’s learning through their multilingual (English/Spanish) family engagement programming. Building the capacity of both teachers and families promotes overall student growth by creating stronger learning environments in the classroom and at home.
“What makes our approach to personalized learning unique is the focus on student empowerment,” said PowerMyLearning’s California Executive Director Neil Spears. “Rather than viewing students as passive learners who are guided by technology, we help them actively drive the learning process, so they can discern which strategies work for them and which do not.”
With the additional funds from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, PowerMyLearning in the San Francisco Bay Area will have the ability to expand its presence tenfold by 2020, serving a projected 40 schools and more than 10,000 students. The organization will add staff and offer new programs to serve more teachers, students, and families at schools in low-income and under- served Bay Area communities.
“The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s mission is to advance human potential and promote equality,” said Jon Deane, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Deputy Director of Education. “To do this, we seek out the strongest and most innovative leaders in a variety of fields and we provide them the support and funding they need to further their great work. One of the most powerful elements of the work being done by PowerMyLearning is their ability to connect students, teachers, and families, while also providing meaningful support and capacity-building to public schools as they work to implement personalized learning and technology in the classroom.”
About PowerMyLearning in the San Francisco Bay Area
PowerMyLearning is a national nonprofit that leverages technology to strengthen the learning relationships among students, teachers, and families so that all students can succeed. We partner with schools, districts, and after-school hubs in under-served communities to provide teachers with coaching and students and parents with devices and training. A powerful element of our work is our free web platform, PowerMyLearning Connect, already in use in more than 40% of school communities nationwide. We have demonstrated impact on students’ achievement and love of learning, teacher instructional practices, and parental confidence. To learn more, please visit PowerMyLearning.org.
About Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is dedicated to advancing human potential and promoting equal opportunity. In 2015, Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to focus on scientific research, education and building strong communities. To learn more, please visit www.ChanZuckerberg.com.
