Citizen Schools Catalyst Project SteerCo #1
December 3rd, 2018
DRAFT Catalyst project meeting roadmap
Project Holiday weeks Start up 1 2 3 4 5 6 break 7 8 9 10 11 Week 10/29 11/5 11/12 11/19 11/26 12/3 12/10 12/17- 1/2 1/7 1/14 1/21 1/28 beginning Today’s 1/1 meeting
Nov 13th Dec 3rd Jan 16th Jan 30th Project Kickoff: SteerCo #1: SteerCo #2: SteerCo #3: • Introduce project team • Review initial assessment of attractiveness • Decide which Catalyst model to • Review final of Catalyst product pursue based on a refined view refinements to model • Review project scope, calendar, – Demand among schools and corporate partners of: strategy and financials and deliverables – Competitive and partner landscape – Attractiveness (including model (as needed) • Discuss goals of Catalyst and financials) • Discuss preliminary view on Citizen Schools’ • Align on near-term dimensions for evaluating – Fit and ability to win ability to win and fit with Catalyst product mobilization plan Catalyst (attractiveness, fit, and • Define capabilities and assets – Capabilities to build out ability to win) – Fit with capabilities and operational feasibility – Ability to scale needed to deliver strategy – Partners to engage • Align on key discussion topics for – Potential for differentiation • Review preliminary list of customer interviews (schools and partners to engage corporate partners) • Agree on set of Catalyst models, including Model 1 and Model 2, to explore in-depth
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 2 Objectives for today’s discussion
Review initial view of demand and market opportunity for Catalyst
Discuss set of potential model options for Catalyst and the strengths and risks of each model
Align on major areas for further exploration for SteerCo #2
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 3 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 4 Reminder: We will use a variety of factors to assess which Catalyst model to scale
Primary focus of Bain’s work
Attractiveness Fit and ability to win
Impact Demand for Fit with mission and ability to Ability to Catalyst inspire stakeholders fundraise
Competitive Financial model Required vs. current Ability to environment capabilities scale
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 5 How we defined the five key elements of Catalyst
Five key elements of Catalyst Definitions for customer interviews and competitive analysis
• Volunteers General contractor • General contractor – Coordinates and packages all four – STEM industry professionals and topic Catalyst elements into single, experts integrated offering – Help facilitate project and enhance – Develops relationships with schools learning in the classroom and districts, including sales Curriculum Student assessments • Teacher professional – Handles the logistics, scheduling, and development administration of program – Volunteer-focused PD for integration of • Curriculum volunteers into the classroom Curriculum- – 8-10 hours of in-school class time – Curriculum-focused PD directly tied to focused teacher spread over 4-5 weeks teaching the content via project-based professional learning – STEM-focused, NGSS-aligned, development project-based curriculum, with clear Volunteers • Assessments mapping to standards Volunteer- – NGSS and core standards mastery focused teacher – Includes lesson plans, sequencing, professional scaffolding, scope, and materials – Social and emotional learning surveys development – STEM topic & career interest surveys – 21st Century skill development
Source: Citizen Schools’ Catalyst presentations
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 6 To date, we’ve conducted 1:1s with the SteerCo and 19 customer interviews with school leadership and corporate partners
Citizen Schools 1:1s School leadership interviews Corporate partner interviews
• Em McCann, CEO Citizen Schools contacts • Jessica Anderson, Strategic Giving Manager, Dell • Nell Kisiel, VP of Strategy and Business • Florin Purice, Principal, Isaac Newton Middle • Nick Sirianni, Senior Manager, PwC Development School • Rita German, Director of Community Investments • Amy Hoffmaster, Catalyst Managing Director • Brian Bradley, Principal, Renaissance School of the and Corporate Responsibility, John Hancock Arts • Aimee Sargent, Chief External Engagement Officer • Ryan Kish, Senior Program Manager, Arconic • Alison Riordan, Curriculum Coordinator, Plymouth Foundation • Mike Kubiak, Managing Director, Foundations & Public Schools Evaluation • Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director, Life Science • Sanda Balaban, Former Regional Superintendent, Cares • Patricia Corbett, Catalyst Volunteer Support New York City Manager • Alain Balan, Program Manager, Excellence for All, • Lauren Chamberlain, Catalyst Director of Training & Other resources Boston Public Schools Support • Erik Turner, Principal, Sedgefield Middle School • Interviews conducted by Bridgespan as part of the • Colin Lacy, Managing Director, US2020 City 2017-2018 Catalyst work Network Bain contacts • Secondary research reports • Maria Drake, Executive Director, CA • Principal, Cambridge – “Strategies to Scale Up Social Programs: Pathways, Partnerships and Fidelity,” prepared by The Wallace • Wendy Lee, Executive Director, NY • Industry Expert, San Francisco Foundation, 2017 • Vanessa Bishop, Managing Director, MA • Superintendent, Chicago – “Expanding Opportunities to Successfully Support Early Readers: A Five-Year Study of Reading Partners Colorado,” • ED of Curriculum and Instruction, Minneapolis prepared by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, 2017 • Principal, Portland • Citizen Schools materials – “Catalyst” • Regional Superintendent, New York City – “Catalyst Program Overview” – “Overview of Catalyst Model for Bain” • Principal, Portland – “Catalyst Year 1 Report” • Principal, San Francisco – “Catalyst Design Workshop” – “Catalyst Pilot Volunteer Training” – “Catalyst Pilot – Project Overview: Thermal Energy”
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 7 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 8 Summary of perspectives to date (1 of 2)
Demand for • School leadership and corporate partners have strong interest in Catalyst driven by its focus on STEM real-world Catalyst learning experiences and ability to facilitate meaningful and unique connections for both students and volunteers • Volunteer matching and training is seen as Catalyst’s key differentiating element as few organizations provide quality STEM volunteers today – Curriculum and volunteer matching are the most important programmatic elements of Catalyst, whereas teacher professional development and assessments are less important – Catalyst must provide both quality volunteers who drive student engagement and interest and quality curriculum that drives specific outcomes; both volunteers and curriculum need to be easily integrated into the school day • Catalyst appeals to corporate partners because they look for organizations that provide a menu of civic engagement opportunities across their various office locations – Catalyst’s shorter program length (4-5 weeks vs. 10 weeks), high scale and high leverage model, and potential to expand into new geographies are particularly compelling – Programming during the middle of the work day and volunteer familiarity with STEM subjects were both cited as potential, but not insurmountable, obstacles to sourcing volunteers Competitive • Catalyst has the potential to be a differentiated product; there are few comparable offerings that integrate a STEM, and partner project-based learning curriculum with an industry professional volunteer overlay landscape – Nepris is the only scale volunteer matching player; however, it differs from Catalyst because it primarily focuses on providing one-time, for Catalyst virtual connections that leverage teacher-developed project plans – All other comparable products are smaller, regional players (e.g., Educurious, Science for Scientists), have a different focus (e.g., TEALs focused exclusively on computer science), or could be potential partners as they do not currently offer strong volunteer matching services (e.g., Project Lead The Way - PLTW) • Partnership opportunities exist across the three other programmatic elements of Catalyst; however, potential project- based learning curriculum partners are limited beyond PLTW, the current market leader
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 9 Summary of perspectives to date (2 of 2)
Model • Catalyst model options have various strengths and risks with tradeoffs between several factors, including control over options for product quality and mission, capability requirements, and scalability Catalyst – Model 1: “Full service” model > In Model 1, Catalyst is delivered primarily via Citizen Schools; Citizen Schools acts as the general contractor, owns the curriculum, teacher professional development, and volunteer matching and training, and partners with a third party for assessments > Model 1 is a strong fit with mission, but will be harder to scale rapidly and will require significant investments in areas outside of Citizen Schools’ core competency of volunteer matching and training – Model 2: “Mass STEM Hub” model > In Model 2, Catalyst is delivered in partnership with Mass STEM Hub and PLTW; Mass STEM Hub acts as the general contractor, PLTW provides the curriculum, teacher professional development, and assessments, and Citizen Schools owns the volunteer matching and training > Model 2 enables Citizen Schools to leverage partners’ distribution networks and core capabilities to scale rapidly, but there is higher risk of mission drift and quality control issues without strong guardrails on who to partner with and partnership structures – Model 3: “Coordinator” model > In Model 3, Catalyst is delivered in partnership with a curriculum provider (e.g., PLTW); Citizen Schools acts as the general contractor and owns volunteer matching and training while third parties provide curriculum, teacher professional development, and assessments > Model 3 helps to mitigate the potential risks of Model 1 (e.g., simultaneous investment across multiple capabilities) and Model 2 (e.g., mission drift and quality control); however, ability to secure a quality curriculum partner in Model 3 is unknown • An alternative path for Citizens Schools is to pursue a phased approach to building and scaling Catalyst, starting with Model 2 and gradually building towards Model 1 – A phased approach would allow Citizen Schools to learn how to scale a high quality volunteer matching and training offerings, while leveraging Mass STEM Hub’s distribution network and PLTW’s curriculum during the initial phase of scaling Catalyst – Over time, Citizen Schools could take ownership over the general contractor and curriculum elements of Catalyst – Capacity constraints and operational complexity could still be issues in a phased approach and staging would need to be thoughtfully managed
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 10 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 11 We interviewed school leaders that serve a wide range of districts, geographies, and student demographics
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 12 Initial interviews with school leadership suggest strong interest in Catalyst
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
The primary differentiator and driver of strong customer interest for Catalyst is having an expert volunteer increase student engagement and interest in STEM topics and careers
Alignment with state standards is a must-have for Catalyst; student engagement, ease of implementation, and price are also key drivers of demand
Citizen Schools should primarily focus on student outcomes related to STEM concept mastery and 21st Century skills development as these are consistently prioritized over social & emotional learning (SEL) outcomes
Conversations with schools and districts should emphasize Catalyst’s quality curriculum and volunteers as they are consistently rated the most important elements of the program
The biggest customer concerns about Catalyst that Citizen Schools should proactively manage are the potential additional burden on teachers and the quality and fit of both the curriculum and volunteer
Citizen Schools needs to plan ahead to access flexible sources of funding given tight school budgets and demonstrate impact on specific criteria and student outcomes to appeal to highly price sensitive school leaders
Source: School leadership interviews (N=14)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 13 Alignment with standards, student engagement, ease of implementation, and price are key factors for school leadership when considering programs like Catalyst
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Demand is primarily driven by alignment with state standards and student engagement In-school offerings need to align closely to standards
Q: What are the primary drivers of demand for a program like Catalyst? “If it doesn’t fit our standards-based curriculum, it doesn’t fit.” 4 3 2 2 4 1 Principal, Massachusetts Demand drivers (# of mentions); N=14 12 “Anything curriculum related that happens during the school day 11 11 needs to have strong alignment to state standards.” District Leader, Minneapolis 10 9 8 8 “If we’re going to spend 5 weeks on this project and we only hit a 7 7 7 handful of science standards, then that’s a problem. It needs to be 6 6 cross-curricular and standards-aligned.” 5 Superintendent, Chicago 4 3 3 Tangible end products help drive student engagement 2 1 “If the project culminates in a product and those kids reach a stage 0 of self-fulfillment like ‘I built something!’ then it is worth it.” Principal #2, New York City Price
“If you do very discrete units with an end product so that kids can
students see that their labor meant something, I think that’s the most Standards alignmentStudent engagement Real-world connectionVolunteer "looks like" important thing.” Ease of implementation Source: School leadership interviews (N=14) Principal #1, New York City
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 14 Most schools are primarily focused on STEM concept mastery and 21st Century skills development; social & emotional learning (SEL) is seen as important but secondary
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP School leadership ranks STEM concept mastery and STEM projects help kids make real-world connections, skill development consistently higher than SEL driving engagement and concept mastery
Q: Rank the importance of the following student outcomes: STEM concept “Making real-world connections is the magic of STEM. Taking mastery, social & emotional learning, and 21st Century skills development. science concepts and relating them to the real world makes it and for kids.” relevant drives interest Customer priority rankings Superintendent, Chicago N=14 14 14 14 100% “We are trying to move away from seeing STEM as a basic hour of learning towards applying STEM to do something you would 1st actually do in a job in the real-world.” 1st 80 1st Principal #2, New York City
2nd 21st Century skills development is key for college and 60 career readiness 2nd “Developing 21st Century skills is all about college and career 40 2nd readiness. A lot of these skills are already embedded in the NGSS standards framework.” 3rd District Leader #1, Massachusetts 20 3rd 3rd “Skill development is all about asking kids to grapple with things that are challenging, collaborate with others, and build the toolset 0 STEM 21st Century skills SEL they’ll need for future careers.” Industry Expert, California Source: School leadership interviews (N=14)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 15 Curriculum and volunteer matching are the most important elements of Catalyst
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP School leaders consistently rank curriculum and Curriculum and volunteer matching are make or break volunteer matching higher than other elements for customer adoption
Q: On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 = not at all important and 5 = extremely important, “Volunteer matching is critical. There is so much value from how important are each of the core elements of a program like Catalyst? having a Google engineer in the room, especially if they are 4.7 3.1 3 4.8 3.75 dynamic and engaging.” Average level of importance Superintendent, Chicago N = 14 “The curriculum makes the whole program worth it. It’s all about Volunteers 4.8 ‘teaching a kid to fish.’ They need to walk away with a skill they can employ in other situations.” Principal #2, New York City
Curriculum 4.7 Assessments and teacher PD are seen as less critical
“Our teachers know how to play nice in the sandbox with others. Assesments 3.6 They don’t need PD on incorporating volunteers into the classroom.” District Leader #1, Massachusetts
Teacher PD 3.0 “Whatever assessment data I get from you isn’t going to mean very much to me. I don’t think I really want to see a spreadsheet about student skill development.” 0 1 2 3 4 5 Principal #1, New York City Source: School leadership interviews (N=14)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 16 Schools bring volunteers into the classroom to leverage their expertise on a specific topic and drive student engagement
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Customers value volunteers primarily because they Volunteers succeed when they raise the level of bring expertise and engagement to the classroom classroom learning
Q: What are the primary drivers of demand for volunteers in the classroom? “Because Middle School teachers are usually generalists, an expert who comes in can really advance the thinking in the classroom.” District Leader #1, Massachusetts
“There are parts of STEM that are underrepresented in my school community, so being able to expose our kids to a real scientist from a company like Biogen is a huge hook.” Principal, Massachusetts
“Finding a volunteer that can challenge and engage the students is paramount. The volunteer is 90% of the whole program.” Principal #1, New York City Volunteer programs used by interviewees
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 17 School leadership primarily concerned about over-burdening teachers and the quality of both the curricula and volunteer for Catalyst
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Customers are concerned about burdening teachers Project-based learning can create significant and the fit and quality of curricula for Catalyst challenges and additional work for teachers
Key concerns “Teachers are not used to teaching project-based curriculum. So (# of mentions), N=14 it’s a hard ask to say, ‘hey you’re a really great teacher, but we need 10 you to totally rethink how you are teaching.’” 9 9 Industry Expert, California 8 8 8 “The co-teaching model is much like a marriage. We have trained ” 7 educators who can’t pull it off. Superintendent, Chicago 6 5 5 5 “If the volunteer only comes in two days a week and the teacher has 4 4 to carry the rest of the project…I’ve had very mixed results with that model.” 3 Principal #2, New York City 2 1 Projects must be easily integrated into curricula 0 “What would drive demand is if Catalyst was legitimately plug and Cost play, and easily massaged to fit into our existing curriculum.” Principal #1, New York City Proof of impact Volunteer quality Burden on teacher Volunteer logistics Curriculum quality & fit Source: School leadership interviews (N=14)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 18 Most schools have some flexibility for funding but accessing funds requires driving specific student outcomes
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Schools have some flexibility to access different However, implementation and payment is dependent on funding sources for a program like Catalyst meeting specific criteria and student outcomes
• Funding sources that could be accessed to pay for Catalyst : “In order to spend the ~$20K, we would need to see a measurable – Title funds: Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV improvement on the end of year math, ELA, and science standards-based exams. There should also be an improvement – Grants: Federal and private in attendance and a decrease in the quantity of disruptive – School funds: General fund, operating budget, revolving, gifts behavior.” Principal, North Carolina “The funding sources are out there. There is definitely discretionary funding that could make something like this work.” “As a potential buyer, I would need to see a video or in-person Principal #1, New York City proof point of the volunteers in action at a similar school. I would look to see if the students are engaged with the project’s rigor.” “If I can’t mimic the program myself internally, then the sources of Regional Superintendent, New York City funds to pay for something like this are endless.” District Leader #1, Massachusetts “First, we would pilot at one grade level. If we see evidence it increases interest in STEM topics and careers, we could expand “Private grants would be a great way to pay for something like this. it to other grades, schools, and eventually across the district.” What Citizen Schools is proposing with Catalyst will definitely Superintendent, Chicago appeal to donors.” District Leader, Minneapolis “Before any volunteer walks into a middle school classroom, I personally want to make sure they can hold the students’ “If it were a unique opportunity then I would find the money for it.” attention and have a clear sense of the curriculum scope and Superintendent, Chicago sequence.” Source: School leadership interviews (N=14) Principal, California
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 19 Funding sources have long lead times and require planning ahead to access; most schools are highly price sensitive
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Accessing funding requires planning ahead and Limited funding availability, schools leadership quoted managing long lead times $10-100 per student, in line with benchmarks
• Budgeting process typically starts 6-9 months before school year Company Est. cost per student* Notes • ~$200/student for one • ~$5000/classroom for unit • In-year budgets are tight and typically fully allocated come fall curriculum module plus ~$850/classroom for PD • ~$120/student for PD • ~$55/student for curriculum • Title funds have strict criteria and must supplement not supplant + curriculum package plus ~$2000/teacher for PD other funding sources • ~$170/student for • ~$5000/classroom per year • Grant applications are rolling and funds may have long lead times year-long course for team of 1-2 volunteers “My budgeting process starts in January and is pretty much set by • $2/student for one- • Either $150/teacher or time interaction ~$2/student July. From there, I have very little flexibility to add a new program.” Principal, North Carolina “If it were $20 per kid, $600/classroom for a full year that feels doable. Then I could do 100 classrooms for $60K and you’re “Citizen Schools needs to reach out early and plant the seed in definitely in the competitive ballpark.” January or February to earmark funding for the following year.” District Leader, Minneapolis Principal #2, Oregon “Looking at $25-30 a student if you want to provide it to the entire “A lot of grants have to be written by the summer, and you need to community. But I would probably just focus on the 6th grade. And in know exactly what you’re applying for ahead of time.” Superintendent, Chicago that case I would be willing to go up to $50-100 a student.” Principal #2, New York City “At the beginning of the school year you may have a little more “If it’s $10 per student, then we can have a conversation. With our money, but by mid-fall all the funds have been committed.” budget, if it’s $100 per student then it’s out of the question.” Note: *Based on average class size of ~30 Principal #2, New York City Source: School leadership interviews (N=14) Principal #1, New York City
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 20 Initial interviews with corporate partners also suggest strong interest in Catalyst
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Corporate partners value that Catalyst leverages Citizen Schools’ core capability of facilitating high quality, impactful experiences for students and volunteers and offers a new civic engagement opportunity to Citizen Schools’ portfolio
Catalyst’s STEM-focused experiential learning, shorter program length, and ability to reach more students and engage more volunteers were all seen as program strengths
Targeting volunteers who can block off time, providing virtual touch points, and offering curricula that aligns with volunteer expertise can help overcome scheduling challenges and volunteers’ lack of familiarity with STEM topics
Corporate partners have a strong preference for continued focus on underserved schools as this aligns with their philanthropic focus; however, they would still be interested if Catalyst served high/medium income schools as long as they could earmark their resources to target communities
Corporate partners are open to a partnership model for Catalyst if Citizen Schools communicates the rationale and value-add of the partnership while demonstrating alignment with corporate partners’ philanthropic values
Source: Corporate partners interviews (N=5)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 21 Corporate partners are enthusiastic about Catalyst’s content focus and the potential to reach more students and to engage more volunteers
Pre-read CORPORATE PARTNERS
Relevant content Student reach & access Expanded locations Lower time commitment
• Focus on STEM and PBL • Ability to serve more • More scalable program • Shorter program is more seen as relevant to students and more allows Citizen Schools to manageable for corporate partners as they equitable access to reach new geographies volunteers; lower time want to influence the programming for students and offer volunteer commitment enables more future workforce as it takes places during the opportunities across program participation school day vs. afterschool offices
“STEM is extremely important to “There are a lot of great afterschool “Corporate sponsors want to see “The four-five week timeline is us. We want a well-educated, programs but parents and kids programs where their offices interesting. It’s hard to commit to diverse workforce in the future. have to opt into that. Catalyst are. Geography matters – they a six-month program. I can block PBL is also important because in makes sure all kids have access want to provide opportunities for off five weeks though. It’s much the workplace you’re not on an to in the classroom offerings.” their employees, build up the easier to recruit for a program island and you need to be able to Corporate Partner #1 local workforce, and create like that.” work together.” goodwill in the places where they Corporate Partner #3 Corporate Partner #1 “Citizen Schools is a very operate.” pragmatic, smart nonprofit. Corporate Partner #2 They know what will work and “The shorter time commitment is “STEM is where you should start, they do it. Changing the model “Timing and location are important huge. Our audience has a hard knowing Boston’s business will reach more students, which for our people, especially in the time imagining a ten-week community.” is what we want to do.” school day. Proximity matters.” commitment. Five is much easier.” Corporate Partner #5 Corporate Partner #5 Corporate Partner #4 Corporate Partner #4 Source: Corporate partners interviews (N=5)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 22 Potential hurdles with scheduling and volunteer expertise are unlikely to significantly impact ability to recruit volunteers
Pre-read CORPORATE PARTNERS Midday programming and volunteer STEM knowledge Virtual touchpoints and a variety of curricular options may be obstacles for companies can help resolve scheduling issues and skill gaps
• Programming in the middle of the work day could be a hurdle • Citizen Schools should target volunteers who have the flexibility to broad volunteer participation in their schedules to make it to classrooms during the work day – Most companies have employees who can reliably block off 4-5 weeks • Not every corporate employee is a STEM expert and may not be comfortable volunteering to teach the Catalyst curriculum – Select virtual touch points can also help ease scheduling issues • Citizen Schools should offer a menu of lesson options to align “There are some employees who can’t leave their desks during with volunteer professions and expertise the day, so it depends. It could very well be an obstacle.” Corporate Partner #1 “People with flexibility would be interested. In our universe, we’re always only looking at a subset of people based on calendars.” “Science work is extremely rewarding, but accountants don’t have Corporate Partner #4 a scientific background. They would be concerned about their ability to help out with Catalyst.” “It will vary by individual. This will work for people who can Corporate Partner #3 arrange their schedule. The option to do some parts virtually could also alleviate scheduling issues.” “We’re interested in STEM, but less interested than organizations Corporate Partner #1 think we are. Only half of our employees are scientists. On the business side, you’re leaving half of our employees in “You need to provide both strategic breadth and depth. You want accounting, marketing, and HR off the list.” something meaningful that appeals to lots of potential Corporate Partner #4 volunteers and educators.” Corporate Partner #2 Source: Corporate partners interviews (N=5)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 23 Corporate partners expressed some hesitation about Citizen Schools broadening its target school profile; would want to earmark their resources for underserved schools
Pre-read CORPORATE PARTNERS Corporate partners want to remain focused on high- As long as corporate partners could earmark their need schools as they align with philanthropic interests funds, they would still collaborate with Citizen Schools
• Corporate partners’ philanthropic goals are focused on serving • Funding and volunteers would likely be earmarked to serve underserved communities only low-income schools if Citizen Schools broadened its focus to serve other demographics • Employee volunteers also want to work with diverse, low- income communities to give back to communities most in need • As long as they could direct resources to their target communities, companies would still partner with Citizen Schools “Closing the skills gap is a big part of our social responsibility program’s focus. We wouldn’t necessarily rule out working with “Our is clearly , but we do fund orgs Citizen Schools, but low-income is a key focus.” mission focused on poverty Corporate Partner #3 with a broader focus; it’s not a complete deal breaker.” Corporate Partner #4 “Resource need is definitely something we would think of. Our “We only work with underserved schools. I feel that type of work volunteers are focused on diversity and inclusion.” is part of Citizen School’s mission. Our Corporate Partner #3 funding will only go to underserved populations. If Citizen School serves others it’s not “We’re really focused on vulnerable, marginalized populations necessarily a problem for me.” Corporate Partner #1 because otherwise there’s no reason to do philanthropy. I don’t think the model would be as compelling without that focus.” Corporate Partner #5 “It would be okay if Citizen Schools’ served a broader set of schools, but our resources would need to be earmarked for schools that are underserved.” Source: Corporate partners interviews (N=5) Corporate Partner #2
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 24 Corporate partners expressed some hesitation about Catalyst if Citizen Schools was not the general contractor; high-quality partners can alleviate concerns
Pre-read CORPORATE PARTNERS Partners expressed some reluctance about Catalyst if Partner quality and effective coordination will ease pain Citizen Schools was not the general contractor points for corporate partners
• Broad concerns about mission drift, quality of partners, and • Citizen Schools will need to be selective in their partnerships as deployment of corporate resources partner quality is paramount to corporate partners
• General preference to fund lead organizations instead of sub- • Citizen Schools must also effectively communicate why it contractors, and wary of having multiple points of contact partnered with certain organizations (e.g., rapid scale, best of breed partnerships) and the value it brings to the partnership “If Citizen Schools becomes a staffing agency for other orgs, there might be some reticence. We don’t want to partner with orgs that • Regardless of model, Citizen Schools should always maintain a have a high overhead and are removed from the front line.” single, streamlined point of contact for corporate partners Corporate Partner #3 “Brand awareness is top of mind – [a brand] that teachers and “We support Citizen Schools, we don’t support the other partner. If schools trust. For example, I wouldn’t have concerns about they choose a partner we don’t like, that could be problematic.” PLTW. If it would further Citizen Schools’ reach into a broader Corporate Partner #1 national audience, I think it would be great.” Corporate Partner #2 “If Citizen Schools only provided bolt-on matching, it calls into question why we would fund them. It makes the most sense to fund “We appreciate when a non-profit can understand that they don’t the lead org.” need to own every piece of the program, and can look to the Corporate Partner #2 ecosystem to see where they fit. As a funder, I’m thrilled CS “We can’t have multiple points of contact. It would be too would consider working with others to deliver the most effective cumbersome.” service with the best outcomes.” Corporate Partner #3 Corporate Partner #4 Source: Corporate partners interviews (N=5)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 25 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 26 There is white space opportunity for Catalyst; few players provide comparable products
Catalyst has a unique value proposition in the education space as few players provide an analogous product that offers multi-touch, in-person volunteer overlays for STEM-focused PBL curriculum
Volunteer matching remains a differentiated offering, with few comparable services to Catalyst; Nepris, the only scale player, provides a different value proposition than Catalyst as it is primarily focused on one-time, virtual interactions
Other comparable volunteer matching products are much smaller (e.g., Science for Scientists which operates in three states) or have a different focus (e.g., TEALS which focuses on computer science)
Partnership opportunities exist across the three other programmatic elements of Catalyst; assessments is likely the easiest aspect of Catalyst to outsource given limited institutional knowledge and availability of quality players
Partnership opportunities in curriculum are likely more rare as PBL curriculum is not widespread; PLTW is attractive given it’s the clear market leader in PBL, options outside of PLTW are less clear
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 27 We used the four core programmatic elements of Catalyst to inform our competitive and partner analysis Pre-read
Four programmatic elements of Catalyst Approach to competitive and partner landscape
• Applied a number of filters across the four elements of Catalyst to find the most relevant competitors and partners – Curriculum and Teacher PD: Project-based learning focused organizations Curriculum Student assessments – Assessments: Social & emotional learning and/or 21st Century skill development focused organizations
– Volunteers: STEM industry professional matching organizations for the school day*
• Focused on national and some regional players in key US 2020 and ELT states (i.e., Curriculum- MA, CA, NC, NY)$ focused teacher professional • Segmented organizations based on the degree to which the product/service was core, development secondary, or not an offering Volunteers Volunteer- – Core offering: Flagship products, often cited in the mission statement, and an integral part of value proposition focused teacher professional – Secondary offering: Feature or option offered, but not their primary focus, objective, or purpose development – Not included: Does not currently provide product/service based on company website
Note: *Excluded mentoring organizations and after school organizations; $Included additional local players mentioned in school interviews
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 28 Though the landscape for individual education areas is vast, there are no large players bringing all the necessary elements of Catalyst together Pre-read
• STEM curriculum is ubiquitous, available at any price point, topic, or format Curriculum • Project-based learning curricula are limited with few off-the-shelf options – PLTW is the clear market leader with the most scale of all PBL curriculum providers
• Teacher professional development is typically attached to and focused on implementing a specific Teacher STEM curriculum professional – Buck Institute for Education (BIE) is one of few organizations not tied to a curriculum and instead is focused on training development schools to implement project-based learning
Student • STEM assessment providers are primarily focused on Common Core math and secondarily on NGSS assessments • Some niche assessment providers focus on social and emotional learning and 21st Century skills
• Few organizations provide STEM-focused, industry professional matching services during school day
Volunteers • With the exception of a few large national organizations, the volunteer matching landscape is fragmented and local – Nepris is the major national player, but primarily provides remote, one-time volunteer connections for schools
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 29 Few players provide an integrated product similar to Catalyst (1 of 2) ILLUSTRATIVE
Professional Student Volunteer Organization Description Curriculum development assessments matching
• Citizen-driven PBL for underserved students PLTW provides all elements of Catalyst but volunteer matching • PBL curriculum and content
• PBL curriculum with support from expert volunteers Educurious provides all • Charter school network in California founded on the pedagogy of PBL Catalyst elements; volunteer matching • Makerspace afterschool program in Cambridge, MA where students High Tech High is an services are less robust develop products in an entrepreneurial model example of a • Activity-based programming and summer camp focused on “learning homegrown system that Curriculum by doing” is similar to Catalyst • Investigation-centered K-12 curriculum with digital offerings as well as classroom activities
• Curriculum and support focused on engaging and innovative activities
• Innovative surveys and performance-based tasks to measure SEL
• Interactive dashboards to allow schools and districts to assess SEL
• Innovative assessments to measure non-academic SEL skills Assessments • User-friendly DESSA assessments to measure SEL competencies
Note: The Possible Project, Edgerton Center, Activate Learning, and Amplify are illustrative examples of PBL after school programs, educational non-profits that Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering generate some curriculum, and curriculum companies in general; HTH is a unique PBL charter network, representative of how individual classrooms implement PBL Source: Company websites
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 30 Few players provide an integrated product similar to Catalyst (2 of 2) ILLUSTRATIVE Professional Student Volunteer Organization Description Curriculum development assessments matching
• Citizen-driven PBL for underserved students
• Free digital provider of interactive activities and subject expertise
• Coach for teachers and leaders on how to implement project-based learning • Consultancy geared toward boosting ELA and Math CORE mastery using
development EngageNY
• PD and curriculum for teachers with a focus on literacy Nepris is the largest national volunteer matching org; • Relevant instruction for creating engaging project-based lessons differs from Catalyst in that it focuses on one-time connections, leverages teacher-created project
Professional • PD and literacy curriculum that promotes skill acquisition through projects plans, and does not provide PD or assessments
• Facilitates virtual volunteer matching between schools and industry volunteers using teacher curriculum; one-touch service
• Project-based engineering enrichment to underserved Chicago students
• Computer science professionals pairing with classroom teachers to teach CS in high schools
• Connects industry volunteers with teachers for STEM learning via a TEALS provides all elements of Catalyst mobile app commissioned by Utah Volunteers program; industry professional volunteer • Matches Cambridge students with an industry volunteer for virtual and in- overlay is core part of offering person mentoring
• Matches scientists to classrooms to assist with in-school STEM lessons Science from Scientists provides industry Note: TEALS is illustrative/best in class, but there are many after and in-school Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering computer science volunteer matching programs volunteer matching, science curriculum, Source: Company websites and teacher PD in grades 3-8 BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 31 Six organizations and school systems provide comparable products to Catalyst Pre-read Catalyst Company Comparison Subject focus School focus Reach Key differences from Catalyst / Key differentiators • STEM • Grades: 6-12 • 10 schools • “Expert Network” connects industry professionals to students • Similar virtually and in the classroom, but not a core offering offering to • Social • Demographics: All schools, • Washington, Catalyst, small studies but particularly focused on Pennsylvania, Colorado, • Small scale- in approximately 10 schools, focus on high scale underserved youth Oklahoma, Tennessee school curriculum and expanding to middle school • Career prep
• Similar • STEM • Grades: 3-8 • Massachusetts, • Brings scientists into classrooms to provide STEM exposure California, Minnesota – Includes science- specific curriculum and PD offerings offering to • In-school • Demographics: All schools Catalyst, small modules and • 9K+ students • Does not work exclusively with low-income schools, and scale projects volunteers are not exclusively corporate
• Similar • Computer • Grades: 7-12 • National (US + British • Best in class volunteer matching, curriculum, and teacher PD offering to science Columbia) program; exclusively focused on computer science • Demographics: All schools Catalyst, • 12K students in 350 high • Microsoft-backed philanthropy with a very large footprint and computer schools and 29 states deep funders; schools pay fraction of the cost science focus • STEAM: • Grades: K-12 • National • Scale national player focused on one-touch, virtual volunteer • Volunteer STEM and interactions • Demographics: All schools • 65K+ students in 2.2K matching Arts focus, national but particularly focused on classrooms • Lesson modules available through teacher-sharing platform rural schools with limited scale • Widely used as a platform for state programs (TX, OR) industry exposure • Project- • Grades: PK-12 • National • PBL market leader • PBL based curriculum • Demographics: All schools • 11.5k schools, 50 states, • Does not source volunteers, but volunteers are encouraged learning focus, national 2.5+ million students to complement curriculum scale • STEM annually, 55k teachers – Partners frequently with other organizations to augment curriculum with volunteers (e.g., Project Syncere, California PLTW, KC STEM Alliance)
• PBL charter • All subjects • Grades: K-12 • 16 schools • Non-profit charter network built on PBL principles network, • Demographics: All schools • San Diego area • Curriculum developed by teachers micro-scale Source: Company websites BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 32 Even among the limited competitors in this space, few are focused on delivering volunteer matching specifically for a PBL curriculum at scale
ILLUSTRATIVE
Catalyst ambition PLTW is the clear leader in PBL market and touts the benefits of volunteers, but lacks a robust TEALS specializes matching offering in computer science for high schools
Educurious and Science from Scientists are most similar to Catalyst, but much smaller in scale
Nepris primarily focuses on one-time, virtual volunteer matching that leverages HTH and other schools are teacher-created curriculum implementing PBL on their own; may supplement Scale of PBL Curriculum Offering Curriculum PBL of Scale curriculum with community volunteers (i.e., parents)
Scale of Volunteer Matching Offering
Source: Company websites BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 33 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 34 Using our research to date, we can now define and discuss the most attractive and feasible Catalyst model options
Demand for Competitive Fit with mission and Required vs. current Ability to Catalyst environment ability to inspire capabilities scale stakeholders
Define the right set of Catalyst model options to explore and debate strengths, risks, and questions for each model
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 35 Key questions to consider as we define and discuss potential models for Catalyst
Is this the right set of model options to explore further?
What are the strengths and potential risks of each model?
What are the key questions we should focus on in the next phase of work for each model?
Given limited resources, what is the right approach for Catalyst (i.e., phased model approach, direct model approach)?
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 36 To determine the right set of model options for Catalyst, we established some preliminary ‘guardrails’
Proposed guardrails Rationale
Initial focus should be on high-need communities Citizen Schools will initially supply volunteers during scaling period given internal capacity to high-need schools constraints and potential risk of mission drift
High demand for STEM curriculum among Catalyst will be STEM-focused at a minimum customers and whitespace opportunity for STEM volunteer matching
Several available quality assessment partners and Citizen Schools will use a partner for student it is difficult to build assessments in-house without assessments deep institutional knowledge
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 37 Based on our guardrails and competitive assessment, we determined there are three most attractive potential Catalyst model options
Citizen Schools Mass STEM Hub Citizen Schools
CS Partner PLTW PLTW PLTW PLTW
PLTW PLTW CS CS CS CS CS CS
1 Catalyst “Full service” model 2 Catalyst “Mass STEM Hub” model 3 Catalyst “Coordinator” model
• Catalyst delivered primarily via Citizen • Catalyst delivered primarily via Mass • Catalyst delivered primarily via Citizen Schools STEM Hub and PLTW Schools and PLTW
• Citizen Schools: General contractor, • Citizen Schools: Volunteer matching and • Citizen Schools: General contractor, volunteer matching, PD, and “custom” volunteer integration PD volunteer matching, and volunteer curriculum integration PD • Partners: Curriculum, assessments, – Curriculum internally developed or heavily modified broader PD tools, and general contractor • Partners: Curriculum, assessments, broader PD tools, and general contractor • Partners: Assessments and potentially curriculum Citizen Schools “owns” Catalyst Citizen Schools partners for Catalyst element element with minimal modifications
Note: CS= Citizen Schools; MSH = Mass STEM Hub; PLTW = Project Lead The Way; Mass STEM Hub and PLTW are illustrative partners
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 38 The three proposed models have various strengths and risks that require tradeoffs between several factors such as capabilities, quality, scale and mission focus
Model 1: Full service Model 2: Mass STEM Hub Model 3: Coordinator • Complete control over mission, • Focus efforts on volunteer matching • Greater control over mission and product quality and intellectual property core capability product quality • Cost savings and economies of • Faster path to scale through Mass • Leverage partner’s curriculum and scale of owning curriculum once built STEM Hub footprint Strengths • Lead role valued by corporate partners • Leverage PLTW’s curriculum, • Lead role valued by corporate partners footprint, and brand • Greater funding access (e.g., Title II with teacher PD)
• Must build internal capabilities • Loss of control over mission and end • Lack of quality or willing PBL upfront and all at once product without appropriate curriculum partners contract/partnership structure • Slower path to scale • Must build general contractor • Difficulty securing additional quality capabilities Risks • Strain on internal capacity partners outside of MA • Loss of funding with smaller role • Operational complexity of working with different partners across markets
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 39 What are the key questions we should investigate in the next phase of work?
Model 1: Full service Model 2: Mass STEM Hub Model 3: Coordinator • Does CS have the ability and • Can CS work only in underserved • Does CS have the ability, financial financial resources to build all schools? resources, and time to build out the required capabilities? general contractor capability? • Can CS provide the supply of • Can CS scale this model in the quality volunteers to meet Mass • Would PLTW partner with CS in desired timeline? STEM Hub’s scale? geographic regions outside MA?
• Have early pilot results confirmed • Will corporate partners, particularly • If not, are there other quality proof of concept and demand? funding partners, support CS if it is curriculum partners that can easily Key not the general contractor? integrate a volunteer overlay? questions • Does CS have to develop the curriculum to meet quality • Does PLTW’s curriculum meet CS’ standards? quality standards and can it easily integrate a volunteer overlay?
• Are there other reliable general contractor partners outside Mass STEM Hub in target geographic areas (e.g., NC, CA, NY)?
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 40 There are several pathways to grow and achieve scale for Catalyst
Phased path Direct path • Citizen Schools pursues a phased approach where it • Citizen Schools pursues a direct path where it builds a builds capabilities and a portfolio of models over time minimum viable product or MVP* and then refines and expands the product over time
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Direct path 1 Model Model 2
Citizen Schools does not pursue Model 2 Model 2 Model 3
Citizen Schools does not pursue Model 3 Model 3 Model 1
Note: *A minimum viable product or MVP is the most basic version of the product which the company wants to launch in the market Source: Economic Times
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 41 Different paths require certain assumptions to remain true in order to maintain mission and strategic goals of Catalyst
Pathway Advantages Disadvantages What needs to be true for success? Phased • Faster path to scale • Brand overshadowed by larger • Partners are mission-aligned, targeting low- partner organizations income schools and districts • Build internal capabilities sustainably and sequentially • Catalyst resources concentrated • CS can be branded as an equal partner over time in geography of partner (i.e. MA) • CS can access robust portfolio of quality • Leverage partner strengths and • School relationships owned by STEM PBL curriculum school relationships for growth general contractor • CS can grow and maintain network of quality • Less strain on internal capacity • Corporate partners may have volunteers for rapid scaling concerns about partnering • Offerings are sufficiently modular to manage • Operational complexity of multi- and reduce operational complexity model portfolio Direct • Maintain mission fidelity • Slower path to scale • CS can build a robust portfolio of quality STEM PBL curriculum • Maintain brand and presence • Must build internal capabilities upfront and all at once • CS can build internal curriculum, PD, and • Strong control over end product general contractor capabilities quickly • Strain on internal capacity • Own school relationships • CS can grow and maintain network of quality • Compete directly with established volunteers over time players and providers • CS can develop, maintain, and grow relationships with schools
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 42 Next steps
• Conduct additional school leadership and corporate partner interviews to continue to assess demand for Catalyst and test potential Catalyst model profiles and sales pitches
• Kickoff economic model work and gather key data and assumptions (e.g., revenue and cost data, growth assumptions, etc.)
• Conduct deep-dive secondary research on potential general contractor and curriculum partners
• Continue to act as a thought partner to the Catalyst team in their partnership with Mass STEM Hub and PLTW
• Build out the capabilities required to deliver Catalyst (e.g., volunteer matching playbook)
• Conduct additional 1:1s and working sessions with Citizen Schools SMEs on areas of expertise
Note: SMEs = Subject matter experts
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 43 AGENDA
Project context and framework for assessing Catalyst
Summary of perspectives to date
Initial view of demand for Catalyst among school leadership and corporate partners
Preliminary analysis on competitive and partner landscape for Catalyst
Best Catalyst model options for further evaluation and next steps
Appendix: Detailed backup analysis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 44 APPENDIX
Demand for STEM, project-based learning, 21st Century skills, SEL, and volunteers
Competitive and partner landscape
Company case studies
Citizen Schools 1:1s perspectives
Primary research materials
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 45 There is demand for STEM, SEL, and 21st century skills; project-based learning and volunteer engagement are effective ways for students to build these skills
1 2 3 4 Strong demand and Emerging demand for Project-based learning Industry volunteers add need for STEM learning SEL & 21st century skills has significant benefits increasing value to PBL
• Availability, access, and • SEL and 21st century skills • PBL improves academic • There are clear benefits of knowledge gaps in STEM are increasingly proving to achievement, SEL, and volunteer relationships education exist be indicators of student and development of 21st including increased student employee success Century skills interest in STEM topics, • Future economic needs majors and careers require enduring STEM • SEL and 21st century skills • PBL curriculum is being career interest will help students adapt to a developed and adopted on • Coordinating volunteer changing economy a wide scale by many experiences is important but • Public and private groups educational organizations challenging and time are investing in education to • Curriculum increasingly consuming for teachers close the STEM gap needs to integrate 21st century skills and SEL with standards content
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 46 1 Demand for STEM-focused learning remains strong driven by gaps in quality STEM education, future job skill needs, and targeted funding to promote STEM education
STEM
Availability, access, and knowledge Future economic needs require Public and private groups are investing gaps in STEM education exist enduring STEM career interest in education to close the STEM gap • Gaps in STEM education persist at many • STEM fields are increasingly central to U.S. • To bridge the education gap and workforce schools economic competitiveness and growth pipeline, private and state players are – ~47% of all high schools and ~60% of high poverty – ~60% of new jobs in the 21st century expected to investing in STEM education 2 8 high schools do not offer physics require STEM skills – U.S. Department of Education earmarked nearly – Many teachers are not qualified to teach skill-based – Growth of STEM jobs expected to outpace growth $280M in STEM discretionary grant funds for 20181 STEM subjects of non-STEM jobs (13% vs. 9% respectively between – Companies such as Akamai, Google, Apple, and 3 2017 and 2027) Salesforce have millions of dollars in grants • Students from low income, heavily minority available for STEM education10 districts have disproportionately less • There are widespread concerns about the exposure to STEM classes and role models7 adequacy of supply and the quality of the • Investment in STEM education for – Only 15% of low-income 4th graders are proficient in workforce to fill these roles underrepresented groups will increase science8 – U.S. is expected to be short over 1M STEM workers future available workforce and diversity 6 – Just 4% of minorities graduating from high schools are by 2024 – $300k NSF INCLUDE grants aim to enhance US considered engineering eligible leadership in STEM through diversity and inclusion11 • Lower engagement rates in STEM fields is – Boeing and NSF INCLUDE public/private partnership particularly acute among minorities compared provides funding to enhance STEM skills “…why is it that we have so few STEM graduates in to white and Asian peers the system – the problem is in middle school - – Minorities make up ~24% of the U.S. population, but “…increased focus on STEM will help ensure our teachers weren't comfortable teaching STEM in only represent ~10% of science and engineering nation's students are in their the classroom.” exposed to STEM early professionals with a college degree9 Founder/CEO, Education non-profit lifelong education journeys and will have the tools needed for success in the 21st century economy.” U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Source: 1. Department of Education Nov 8, 2018 2. COLLEGE AND CAREER PATHWAYS: EQUITY AND ACCESS ExcelinEd Civil Rights Data Collection Analysis- 2018; 3. Economic Modeling Specialists International, 2017; 4. https://ssec.si.edu/stem- imperative 5. Everfi 6. Talentwave 7. Increasing Education Opportunities For Minorities In STEM, Forbes 2015 8. Teach For America 9. Nation’s report card http://www.timeandlearning.org/files/Strengthening- Science-Education-Full-Report.pdf 10. Inside Philanthropy 11. National Science Foundation
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 47 st 2 There is emerging demand for an effective way to teach SEL & 21 Century skills: key indicators of student success and adaptability to a changing economy
SEL & 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
SEL & 21st Century skills are indicators SEL and 21st century skills will help Curriculum increasingly needs to of student and employee success students adapt to a changing economy integrate standards with skills and SEL • Students with better social-emotional • 21st century skills are among top • There is a push to incorporate SEL into skills have higher academic scores attributes employers seek on a curriculum standards and graduation rates candidate’s resume3 – IL, KS, PA, WI, NY have developed SEL – 6% improvement in on-time high school – 83% of respondents to an employer survey guidelines or goals for schools5 graduation2 ranked problem-solving skills and ability – VT, WA, and other organizations have – 11% improvement in college attendance2 to work in a team as the most important standards that call on SEL elements as a skills3 pre-requisite for learning • Employees with 21st century skills have st more successful careers • Technology literacy and the ability to • Integrating 21 Century skills requires – People with well-founded 21st century skills adapt will remain relevant skills even as approaching curriculum content through are far more likely to hold administrative jobs evolve technology integration and the lens of positions and to be promoted4 – 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t a complex problem – Google ranked 7 “soft” skills above STEM been invented yet1 – Digital literacy can be fostered by skills as indictors of successful employees implementing technology in the “Because critical thinking and systems thinking are classroom7 crucial for the human employees of the future, it is – More complex skills require a reframing of “Teachers understand that if students have strong imperative that we instill them through the education how to approach teaching through SEL and collaborative problem solving skills they of the present.” problem solving rather than memorization8 can complete their work more effectively.” Joseph Aoun, Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age Director of Instructional Design, CS of Artificial Intelligence Source: 1.Next Era of Human Machine Partnerships – Dell, Institute for the Future 2. the74million.org 3THE KEY ATTRIBUTES EMPLOYERS SEEK ON STUDENTS’ RESUMES - NACE. 4. Pearson Ed 5. CASEL 6. College and Career Readiness Center 7. Crowley, EdWeek.org 8. Reframing student outcomes to develop 21st century skills, Rice, Stanford
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 48 3 PBL increases student engagement; demand for curriculum is increasing and many providers are responding with off-the-shelf and customized lessons
PROJECT- BASED LEARNING
PBL improves academic achievement, social emotional PBL curriculum is being developed and adopted on a wide scale learning, and the development of 21st Century skills by many educational organizations • Academic achievement outcomes improve in PBL settings • PBL curriculum is being developed by teachers, non-profits, and – More likely to graduate on time2 and pursue four year STEM Degrees3 schools – On high-stakes tests, PBL students perform as well or better than – Non-profit PBL curriculum developers (e.g. PLTW) integrate PBL into the traditionally taught students6 school day – PBL has been shown to be more effective than traditional methods for – Non-traditional schools such as High Tech High are founded on the teaching math, economics, language, science, and other disciplines7 pedagogy of PBL, designing a full PBL curriculum for all subjects
st – Public and traditional instruction school teachers are developing their • SEL and 21 Century skills improve in PBL settings own curriculum aided by PD provided by non-profits like Buck Institute – Students exhibit more positive attitudes toward learning when compared to peers1 • Adoption of PBL is accelerating at all levels of education – PBL students display higher levels of collaboration, problem solving, – Adoption of PBL curriculum in the Kansas City Metro region grew 7X over and conflict resolution skills4 the past 7 years to over 70k students in 2018, mostly in in K-8 grades5 – PLTW now serves over 11k schools and reaches 2.5M students annually
“Any shift in the PBL direction could have a positive effect on students. ANY... even “Far too few students have access to PBL. And it has real implications for how we ONE project a year coming from a teacher who is teaching “graveyard” style is a are positioning them long-term. For example the kinds of jobs we are setting them up huge shift and can be positive.”” to succeed in, and successful college admissions.” Education Consultant, Educational Non-profit Director, Educational Non-profit
Source: 1. Hernández-Ramos and De La Paz, Holmes and Hwang, and Mioduser and Betzer studies 2. Zeiser, et al., 2016 3. Center for Urban and Multicultural Education 4. Zeiser et al. 2014 5. https://www.kauffman.org/currents/2018/06/we-can-build- the-stem-workforce-our-future-economy-needs 6. Parker et al. 2011 7. Buck Institute, Research Summary on the Benefits of PBL
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 49 4 Industry volunteers add value to STEM and PBL learning, but coordinating meaningful relationships remains a challenge
VOLUNTEERS
There are clear benefits of volunteer relationships for STEM Coordinating volunteer experiences is important but education, including increased student interest challenging and time consuming for teachers • Volunteers help complement STEM and PBL curriculum by • Finding and matching volunteers is a lot of work, but non- providing real world context and expertise profits, public organizations, and businesses are working to – PBL curriculum is most effective when it involves adult connections, overcome logistical challenges creating authenticity and rigor4 – STEM Oregon and Texas STEM have developed relationships with the – Industry experts help fill teacher knowledge gaps in complex STEM volunteer matching service Nepris to bring virtual interactions into areas, as well as increase teacher confidence in teaching such subjects5 classrooms – IEEE and IBM have formed Try Engineering Together to recruit engineers • Students who have a STEM role model are more encouraged to to work with students and teachers in and out of the classroom to pursue a STEM career inspire future engineers6 – Children who are surrounded by people in STEM fields are more likely to be inventors and pursue STEM degrees2 • Funding awards from public grants and companies for volunteer – Volunteers drive awareness of how scientists and mathematicians matching are making scaling such organizations easier think and work and expose students to new potential careers5 – Nepris raised $1M in new round of seed funding to build more 1 – Research shows that involving volunteers in the classroom leads to connections between industry and education increased engagement, enjoyment, and confidence in STEM learning – Bosch community grants pair industry volunteers with classroom and reasoning5 teachers in order to expose students to careers in STEM fields3 “Teachers need training and help for STEM. They find that having engaged volunteers to drive home more difficult concepts is very attractive. Volunteer Support Manager, Educational Non-profit
Source: 1. Business Wire 2. The Institute, IEEE 3. SAE, Bosch Initiatives 4. Zingraff, STEM Professional Volunteers in Secondary STEM education 5. theconversation.com 6. IEEE
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 50 APPENDIX
Demand for STEM, project-based learning, 21st Century skills, SEL, and volunteers
Competitive and partner landscape
Company case studies
Citizen Schools 1:1s perspectives
Primary research materials
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 51 STEM curriculum development is widespread, ubiquitous, and well-established; PBL curriculum has fewer players and is targeted at many different applications
CURRICULUM
Project-based learning is being STEM curriculum is widespread and implemented both in and after the There are a few major players in the fragmented across content and delivery school day PBL curriculum development field
• 600+ curriculum products listed on • Project-based supplemental learning programs • Off-the-shelf curriculum can be implemented edsurge.com alone are mostly after school, weekend, or summer easier by teachers who have little exposure to – Range from digital apps to traditional textbooks programs PBL or lack time to create their own curriculum, but there are very few major players – Include both paid-for and free products • Implementation during the school day is becoming more popular • Standards focused curriculum developers offer more traditional forms of curriculum though new • Content is often developed directly by teachers, entrants bring innovative digital products but it is difficult to implement and manage well • Regional supplemental education tends to • Project-based learning matches well with naturally implement PBL in out of school STEM-focused curriculum settings; many players in these areas • Businesses are developing curricula that use or are based on their own products or platforms
• Non-profits are developing curriculum content • PBL-focused schools are founded on the based on their organization’s mission or pedagogy of PBL and have built all curriculum knowledge base from the ground up for internal use; full school approaches are rare, but more schools are implementing on a classroom basis
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 52 There is not a lot of whitespace for STEM curriculum, but there are opportunities to focus on PBL and SEL and involving a volunteer ILLUSTRATIVE CURRICULUM Organization Descriptions STEM-focused PBL-focused SEL-focused Volunteer Sourcing • Enriching education for students in low income communities through expert volunteers and PBL • Delivering PBL opportunities in the traditional school day for students with support from expert volunteers • Developing PBL curriculum and content for use during the
curriculum traditional school day
Key players in PBL in players Key • Charter school network in California founded on PBL pedagogy
• A makerspace program in Cambridge where students develop products in an entrepreneurial model
types • Activity-based programming for students and summer camp offerings focused on “learning by doing” • Provides supplemental STEM programming to underrepresented youth in metropolitan Detroit • Curriculum development and support focused on engaging and innovative activities • Traditional “Big 3” curriculum provider focusing on textbook and digital offerings with PBL options • Tech-focused business building PBL curriculum using the company’s products/platforms School/Teacher • Teachers and schools using PD opportunities and available Representative examples ofplayer Developed resources to develop custom PBL
Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 53 Most PD services are tied to a specific curriculum offering
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Most STEM teacher PD providers are focused on implementing There is an emerging set of teacher PD providers that focus a specific Math & Science curriculum specifically on implementing STEM project-based learning
• Traditional players focus on building PD functions to help implement their • Emerging organizations have begun to focus on project-based learning existing CORE-aligned Math and NGSS-aligned Science curriculums specifically, implementing Engineering and Technology lessons alongside traditional Math and Science offerings • These players have largely been slow to include Engineering and Technology • Most of these organizations use PD to implement a curriculum they created:
• However, Buck Institute for Education focuses solely on teaching schools how to implement and create “gold standard” project-based learning practices within an already existing curriculum
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 54 Professional development space segments along project-based feature
ILLUSTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
21st Century CORE + NGSS Organization Description Project-based STEM-focused SEL-focused Skills-focused Aligned On-site services • Volunteer-oriented project-based learning for underserved students
• STEM curriculum provider with heavy focus on hands-on programming
• Bundled PD curriculum and volunteer services to deliver project-learning courses
• Coach for teachers and leaders on how to implement project-based learning
• Relevant instruction for creating engaging project-based lessons
• Traditional implementation services from a “big three” curriculum provider
• Consultancy geared toward boosting ELA and Math CORE mastery using EngageNY
• Free digital provider of interactive activities and subject expertise
• PD and curriculum for teachers with a focus on literacy
Note: Pearson is representative of the “Big Three,” McGraw Hill and HMH have similar offerings Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering Source: Company Websites
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 55 Most assessments track either STEM, SEL, or 21st Century skills outcomes
STUDENT ASSESSMENTS
STEM assessments are largely focused Social & emotional learning (SEL) 21st Century Skills assessments are on Common Core Math standards assessments are relatively nascent also emerging
• Traditional players focus on assessing Common • Several new assessment companies are • Companies are responding to growing demand CORE Math (and ELA) standards developing models to track & measure growth to track & measure critical thinking, mindset and emotional regulation outcomes collaboration and problem-solving skills
• However, assessments vary widely in their methodology as no standards have been commonly accepted across the industry
• Newer players have developed adaptive • In the 2018-2019 school year, PLTW is piloting assessments, but they are still largely focused an end-of-course (EoC) assessment that will on Common CORE Math (and ELA) standards measure both course specific knowledge as well as 21st Century skills
• Niche players focus on assessing Engineering, Technology and Science skills
Source: Company Websites
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 56 Assessment space is fragmented; no single offering includes STEM, SEL, & skills
Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering ILLUSTRATIVE STUDENT ASSESSMENTS
21st Century CORE & NGSS Organization Description Project-based STEM-focused SEL-focused Skills Aligned Adaptive • Volunteer-oriented project-based learning for underserved students
• STEM curriculum provider, with a heavy focus on hands-on programming
• Innovative surveys and performance- based tasks to measure SEL
• Interactive dashboards to allow schools and districts to assess SEL
• Innovative assessments to measure non- academic SEL skills
• Traditional formative assessments from a “big three” curriculum provider
• Cleanly benchmarked data for school administration
• Adaptive, core-aligned testing on a digital platform geared towards intervention
• Adaptive, core-aligned testing on a digital platform
• Organized tracking of mastery of state and Common Core standards
• DESSA assessments focus on strength- based measure of SEL competencies
Note: Pearson is representative of the “Big Three,” McGraw Hill and HMH have similar offerings Source: Company websites
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 57 Volunteer matching organization offerings vary widely
Certain organizations primarily serve a matching For other organizations, volunteer matching is a function to pair volunteers with schools compliment to a broader program
• Organizations that perform volunteer matching are often • Many organizations provide robust curriculum along with local, and serve specific communities volunteer matching services to teach a particular subject or skill (computer science, engineering, literacy) • Teacher PD is sometimes an offering; TEALS, for example, aims to train teachers to offer computer science • Some provide a mobile app to connect teachers with industry volunteers
• Some organizations provide virtual volunteers that connect large areas (including rural schools) with industry perspectives
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 58 There are a limited number of comparable STEM industry professional volunteer matching organizations
Core offering Secondary offering Not an offering ILLUSTRATIVE VOLUNTEER MATCHING Virtual vol. In-person Virtual vol. Curriculum Teacher PD Assessment Organization Description Reach sourcing vol. delivery delivery offerings offerings offerings • Provides volunteer-oriented, project-based MA, CA, NC* learning for underserved students
• Facilitates virtual volunteer matching between National, virtual schools and industry volunteers
• Pairs CS professionals with classroom teachers to 29 states (MA, teach CS in high schools CA, NC) + D.C.
• Provides project-based engineering enrichment to Chicago underserved Chicago students
• Connects industry volunteers with Utah teachers Utah for STEM learning via a mobile app
• Matches scientists to classrooms to assist with D.C., MD, VA lesson planning and mentoring
• Matches Cambridge students with an industry Cambridge, MA volunteer for virtual and in-person mentoring
• Pairs scientists with teachers to provide STEM, MA, CA, MN module-based lessons
• Volunteers teach CS classes once a week in NY, CA schools
• Brings industry professional to classrooms to work CA as tutors, guest lecturers, and instructors
• Trains retired scientists and engineers to assist K- 14 states (MA) 12 teachers in classrooms
• United Way convenes Boston non-profits and MA business to provide 6th-8th afterschool science Notes: *Catalyst locations; Note TEALS is illustrative; lots of volunteer matching CS organizations (in and out of school)// Source: Company websites
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 59 APPENDIX
Demand for STEM, project-based learning, 21st Century skills, SEL, and volunteers
Competitive and partner landscape
Company case studies
Citizen Schools 1:1s perspectives
Primary research materials
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 60 Case studies assessed companies across all four core offerings of Catalyst
We chose the following key competitors and partners… … to assess across the core elements of Catalyst
• Current strategic partners:
• Potential partners being considered: Curriculum Student assessments
• Direct competitors in STEM PBL: Curriculum- focused teacher professional development • Orgs focused on matching STEM industry professionals: Volunteers Volunteer- focused teacher professional development
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 61 Project Lead the Way (PLTW): PBL curriculum company with STEM, 21st Century skills focus
Company overview Products / Services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Bring PBL to all classrooms through • Standards-aligned PBL-based lesson • Affiliations with universities add incentives curriculum and professional development plans that integrate from PK-12 for schools to adopt curriculum • Established: 1997; Headquarters: Indianapolis – PK-12 offerings – Affiliate universities offer active PLTW student > PK-5th: Launch recruitment, course credit, admission preference, • Reach: ~11.5k schools, 14k programs, 50 states, > 6th-8th: Gateway and scholarships 2.5+ million students annually, 55k teachers > High School: Computer Science, • Target demographic: all students across the Engineering, Biomedical Science • Connections to regional STEM networks help economic spectrum – AP Partnership promote PLTW curriculum nationally • – Mass STEM Hub, California STEM Network, • Subject matter: Computer Science, Engineering, Professional development focused on STEMWorks at WestEd Biomedical science, STEM introducing and supporting PBL – Immersive PBL core curriculum training; WPI Business model partnership offers on-campus training • Industry volunteers are encouraged but not • Supported by philanthropic gifts from partners – PD tracks such as App Creator and Robotics supported by PLTW • Collaborates with educational organizations to – Classroom support through online platforms – PLTW does not have a central offering for recruiting (Solution Center and myPLTW) and connecting volunteers create funding opportunities (e.g. grants) for – Events (e.g., conferences, roundtables) to involve schools to adopt/purchase PLTW education community in PLTW • Provides support for creating funding plans • Assessments measure subject matter Delivery model knowledge and 21st Century skills • Curriculum via in class lesson plans/digital – End-of-Course (EoC) high school assessment of subject-matter knowledge, transportable skills • Teacher PD delivered in-person, with – Student reports for college applications or additional support online resumes • University partnerships for professional teacher PD and student recruitment pipeline
PLTW offers one of the most widespread and robust off-the-shelf PBL curriculum and supports implementation through teacher Source: Company website professional development, university affiliations, and industry support BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 62 Amplify: PK-8 curriculum company using digital format Company overview Product/services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Create immersive PK–8 core and • Standards-aligned core and supplemental supplemental curriculum, assessment, and curriculum • Amplify is a traditional curriculum offering with activities and simulations incorporated through intervention programs – PK-8 ELA, Science, and Math offerings a digital platform • Established: 2000; Headquarters: Brooklyn, NY – Focus on interactives and simulations in digital format • Reach: 3M students in all 50 States; utilized in – Offer print material, and hands-on experiments as well • Though curriculum is activity based, it is not ~9K districts and ~21K schools – Curriculum is differentiated by being “highly engaging”, project based and took a lot of modification to “immersive”, “multimodal” make it classroom ready for Catalyst • Target demographic: PK-8 • Subject matter: ELA, math and science • Their strong adaptive assessments and how • PD services focus on supporting teachers they tie to curriculum are a unique offering Business model and districts in implementing curriculum • Develop and sell curriculum products and – Coaching sessions provide teacher support in person or • Amplify has an interesting background and assessment tools through online guides with lesson-specific differentiation scaling story strategies • Provide range of professional development – Amplify has shifted from an assessments only – Foundation sessions and Deep Dive sessions provide company to a curriculum-focused company services; designs custom PD solutions teachers with content knowledge to further teacher education on lesson subjects – Core focus on digital curriculum development has • Utilize a sales team to sell products, required iterative, methodical process particularly PD services improvement based on teacher feedback • Formative, interactive assessments measure Delivery model – Non-core products have been spun off as individual subject matter mastery and diagnose areas companies for computer science education, • Print and digital curriculum delivery for intervention in reading and math educational games, assessment technology, and • Assessments are digital, typically taken on – Math and reading/ELA assessments available school resource planning touch-screen devices – Generate reports with aggregated snapshot of the • Teacher PD can be delivered in-person, classroom based on individual student progress to help teachers plan lessons remote, or via online courses
Highly-interactive digital curriculum and adaptive assessments that evaluate individual students and diagnose areas for intervention Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 63 Educurious: Non-profit developing PBL curriculum, PD, and volunteer matching
Company overview Products/services • Mission: fundamentally transform the K-12 • PBL standards-based curriculum for high and • Units are aligned to standards and coupled education experience by creating a system where middle schools units; available standalone or as with gaming, badges and technology-based young people learn in meaningful, engaging ways full year courses assessments • Established: 2011; Headquarters: Seattle – 3 middle school science units available; 10+ – Built to the Common Core Standards and the additional in development Framework for K–12 Science Education • Reach: 10 schools (WA, PA, CO, OK, TN) – 7 middle school social studies units – Teacher experts and peers award students – 5 high school human science units badges for developing skills to encourage • Target demographic: all K-12 children, especially knowledge acquisition – 3 Seattle-based units for middle or high school underserved youth st and 4 career based high school units – 21 Century skills not assessed • Subject matter: STEM, Social Studies, Career prep
Business model • Affiliated with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • “Immersive” PD for teachers and school • “Expert Network” connects industry ($5.4M in grants) leadership to develop and integrate PBL professionals to students in the classroom – Services delivered in-person and virtually and virtually • Offer PBL curriculum and teacher/school leader PD for purchase by schools – PD workshops focused on how to create and – 500+ volunteers; diverse backgrounds not facilitate PBL units, align PBL to priorities, assess exclusive to STEM; lower commitment (1-3 • Rely on volunteerism for their expert network student learning and build teacher capacity hours per month) Delivery model – Experts can sign up online or be recruited through partners • Curriculum available via an online platform – Provide experts with virtual and in-person • Teacher PD delivered in-person and virtually training and support • Volunteers mentor in-person and virtually
Educurious seeks to connect students and teachers to careers through PBL-focused content and experts; potential to scale given use
Source: Company website of technology, but less scale reached to date compared to larger players (i.e. PLTW)
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 64 Buck Institute for Education (BIE): Exclusively focused on project–based professional development
Company Overview Product / services BIE focuses on “Gold Standard” PBL • Mission: Train teachers and school leadership Aim to spread PBL by providing PD to all • Buck’s definition of “Gold Standard” project- to design and implement PBL levels of school leadership based learning is widely regarded as the key • Established: 1987; Headquarters: Novato, CA – Inspire teachers through workshops framework to determine a project’s rigor – Lead principals through “visioning day” • Reach: 80K+ teachers and leaders across all brainstorming sessions • The institute aims to standardize quality 50 states and 1,200+ schools – Enable districts to implement multi-year large- across districts and to counteract an influx of scale PBL with “Systemic Services” • Target demographic: K-12 Schools poor quality PBL – Sustain support with customized on-sites • “Gold Standard” PBL should teach 21st Century Offer a range of robust services Business Model “success skills” and prepare students for – Provide services from 1-day “Project Slice” to 3- college and careers • from professional development day “PBL 101 Workshops” or “Career Pathways” Earn revenue to 7-day “Leadership Team Development Series” services sold to teachers, schools & districts • Services instruct teachers how to boost – Host events like “PBL World 2019, the Premier Common Core and NGSS scores • Receive additional funding from the endowed PBL Conference” Buck Trust and other partners – Conduct diagnostic assessments and follow-up with “implementation planning labs” Delivery Model Provide free resources in an effort to create a • Host in-person multi-day workshops facilitated wide-spread yet rigorous PBL movement by BIE experts – Create written (blogs, books, articles, etc.), visual – ~85 BIE experts are part of national faculty (webinars, videos), and tactical (rubrics, handouts) resources • Provide on-site support – Curate curricula gathered from online libraries • Offer digital follow-up, print materials for purchase, and free online materials
Buck Institute is compelling partner given their sole focus on “gold standard” project-based learning professional development and their independence from a specific curricula Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 65 Transforming Education: Assessments measuring Social Emotional Learning competency
Company Overview Products Method to scale
• Mission: Help schools measure Mindsets, Implement survey-based SEL • Transforming Education has reached national Essential Skills and Habits (MESH) assessments scale by entering at district level, taking a – Curate surveys that are meaningful, holistic approach, and partnering with think • Established: 2013 in Boston, MA measurable and malleable – the “3Ms” tanks and researchers • Reach: 1M+ Students in CA and MA – Students self-report SEL skills like growth • Organization has district-wide projects in • Target demographic: PK-12 mindset, self-efficacy, self-management and awareness California’s CORE Districts, Minneapolis, • Subject matter: Social and Emotional Learning – Administered before and after curriculum to and Washoe County track growth • Trans Ed aims to take holistic approach by – Surveys are industry standard, but Business Model advancing SEL into multiple levels of a school recognized as highly subjective system: classroom, leadership, and district • Value add: SEL experts who can bring Piloting performance-based SEL stakeholders together assessments • Partner with Think Tanks like CASEL and the – Work with school districts, think tanks, universities, – Students perform a task to demonstrate Rand Corporation to ensure use of “cutting- and provide curated assessment materials SEL capability (test created in collaboration edge tools” and research • Buy SEL survey materials from Panorama with xSEL labs and Centervention) Education – Tasks include playing tricky video games • Collaborate with University researchers from to exhibit self-management, or categorizing Harvard, University of Chicago, etc. produce • Funded by foundations including Einhorn, facial expressions to show awareness studies that aim to influence policymakers Betchtel, Kauffman, Raikes, and Wallace Provide online resources for teachers, parents and policymakers Delivery Model – Offer toolkits, papers, studies, and webinars • Digital performance-based and survey-based assessments
Transforming Education is a strong potential Catalyst partner due to existing relationship and multiple pathways to scale
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 66 Nepris: STEAM-focused virtual volunteer matching
Company overview Product / services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Connect industry leaders to • Teachers choose from session topics in • Widely used as a turnkey service for teachers classrooms the Nepris database and volunteers • Established: 2013; Headquarters: Dallas – Teachers can bring volunteers into classroom to teach • Nepris uploads modules from teachers a prepared module, requiring minimal preparation • Reach: 65K+ students in 2.2K classrooms and organizations of prior partnerships – Volunteers prep time limited via readily-available • Target demographic: K-12, all schools – Offerings include PBL and Career and resources for the lesson Technical Education based lessons; lessons • Subject matter: STEAM (STEM + Arts) are aligned with Common Core, NGSS, and • Removes logistical barriers to incorporating Business model National CTE Standards volunteers in the classroom – Simple videos, how-to-use webinars, and short – Topics have expanded from exclusively trainings facilitate volunteer integration for teachers • Supported by seed funding from foundations, STEM to STEAM (inclusion of arts) as VC, and angel investors teachers and volunteers make connections – Teachers can communicate and schedule sessions with the STEM professional through online platform • Two subscription options: • Nepris’s core competency is volunteer – Bronze option (free trial version) includes lesson matching • Improves quality and relevance of volunteers templates and volunteer matching – Professionals set up a profile online – Teachers source volunteers from any geography, creating a large national footprint and increasing – Premium option adds video content, live industry – Teachers pick a curriculum topic or student access to industry in rural areas chats, usage analytics, and premium for support project and Nepris pairs a volunteer – Teachers can view previous volunteer session videos > $149 per teacher user; $2 per student user and frameworks to engage classes annually • Industry volunteers serve as guest Delivery model speakers and project mentors “…it's easy to use and very engaging. Students are • Primarily delivered digitally – Help teachers expose students to careers and make real-world connections able to network and meet professionals from all – Volunteers connect with students during live sessions; around the world….makes everyone stand on the share PowerPoint and videos and speak over webcam same playing field in terms of educational equity.” – Limited in-person volunteering available Middle school teacher, EdSurge review
Nepris has a large, digital volunteer base that makes turnkey volunteer modules easily accessible to teachers
Source: Company website, EdSurge
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 67 TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools): Volunteer matching for computer science education
Company overview Products / services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Increase access to computer science • TEALS partnered with universities to create four • Strong emphasis on teacher PD as a tool (CS) for all students, as early as possible curriculum options for schools TEALS is gen. for change; program trains teachers in both contractor; CS content and how to teach CS • Established: 2009; Headquarters: Seattle – Options include Introduction to CS, AP CS A, schools apply AP CS B, and Advanced Topics and Projects – Volunteers are a crucial part of training teachers • Reach: 12K+ students in 2017-18; operates in for program, 350 schools and 29 states and DC – Courses were developed in conjunction with UC TEALS – Volunteer interviews focus both on technical Berkeley and the University of Washington screens credentials and teaching style • Target demographic: Grades 7-12 • TEALS provides both students and teachers – Volunteer commitment is substantial and • Subject matter: Computer science with assessments to track progress designed to reduce the workload on teachers – focuses on – Students work towards AP assessments at year end and Mandatory volunteer summer training Business model how to integrate a volunteer into the classroom; complete formative assessments* for constant feedback recommended but not required for teachers • Funded by Microsoft Philanthropies – Teachers must complete a self-assessment twice a – Does not collect fees from partner schools, but may year to track progress towards course handoff require schools to pay volunteer-related stipend and • TEALS is growing quickly and creating expense costs • Teacher PD is lengthy and transformative solutions to scale – Quick growth; 4 schools in 2009 grew to 161 in 2015 Delivery model – Throughout the course, teachers gradually increase their role from learner, to supporter, to primary instructor – Use teachers who completed the TEALS program • Three models to work with teachers to train new participants (take advantage of – TEALS partnership is much-longer than traditional in- – Co-teaching Model: standard engagement, 2-4 previous investment) service PD; 300 hours of co-teaching volunteers partner with a teacher to deliver Intro or AP CS • Pairs computer science professionals from the – TEALS has tried to make logistics easy for volunteers as it grows: classes in the morning – Lab Support Model: 1-2 volunteers provide support tech industry with classroom teachers as lab TAs, working 1-on-1 with students accommodate work schedules, virtual volunteering provides options for volunteers who can’t leave work – Classroom Enrichment Model: volunteer assists a – 700 + volunteers come from corporate partnerships classroom teacher in person or via phone; may also (TEALS recruits at employer) and online applications participate in guest lectures – Volunteer is present 1-2x per week for minimum one- • Provide teleconferencing to rural areas year
TEALS is hyper-focused on increasing access and literacy in Computer Science for both teachers and students through high-quality
Note: *Formative assessments show the student’s thinking process to illustrate progress to instructor. expert volunteers
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 68 Project SYNCERE: Volunteers provide engineering education to underserved students
Company overview Products / services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Increase the number of minority, female, • Provide STEM, PBL curricula through • Partnership with PLTW was used to develop a and under-served students pursuing STEM careers three umbrella programs rigorous, college preparatory engineering • Established: 2009; Headquarters: Chicago – ENPOWERED: both in and after-school curriculum for students (E-CADEMY) programs to expose students to STEM and – E-CADEMY is designed to prepare students to enroll in • Reach: 10K+ students in 50 schools Project SYNCERE is create an E-CADEMY pipeline (free) post-secondary engineering disciplines general contractor; has • Target demographic: Grades 1-12 relationships with – ENPOWERED Games Competition: one-day – Program works to address preparatory gaps students student engineering competition • Subject matter: Engineering schools and uses free face coming out of high school; PLTW curriculum is school offerings to – E-CADEMY: multi summer and in-year used to prepare for national standards recruit for E-CADEMY Business model engineering enrichment to prepare middle – Students learn to use engineering software, attend and high school students for college eng field trips to corporate offices, and are paired with • Charge low fees for summer camps and in-year mentor volunteers in addition to curriculum offerings; discounted fees available based on need > GATEWAY: 3 year program, grades 6-8 > PRO: 3 year program, grades 9-11 – Up to ~$500 for programs • Local Chicago-based opportunities augment curriculum – ENPOWERED program offered for free • E-CADEMY curriculum provided through partnership with Project Lead the Way – Have partnered with the University of Chicago and local – Corporate sponsors and foundations help fund companies to launch design challenges and organization: MacArthur Foundation, Boeing • Track impact through students served, leadership programs in addition to regular offerings graduation rates, test scores, and Delivery model reported enthusiasm for school • Volunteers have flexible options with Project SYNCERE • Delivers engineering programs during and after – SYNCERE helps students on all metrics the school day, through one-day competitions, • Volunteers leverage professional – Project SYNCERE offers volunteers flexible options and in summer programs expertise to assist in PBL – Can teach at the high school or middle school level, and can volunteer in class, out of school, or at local – All delivery is done in-person – Volunteers are recruited through word of engineering competitions • Projects are instructor guided, but each team is mouth and online applications paired with a corporate partner mentor
Project SYNCERE provides high-touch interventions to underserved students to expose Chicago students to engineering education Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 69 STEM Mentor Exchange (STEM MX): Mobile app connects volunteers to classrooms
Company overview Products/services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Provide support for STEM workforce • STEM MX app is very accessible development in Utah • The app allows teachers to post their volunteer opportunities and volunteers – Recruit volunteers with easy sign-up process • Established: 2017; Headquarters: Utah to advertise their skills for a match – App is available on Google Play and the App store; • Reach: Six Utah school districts interface advertises volunteering opportunities • Volunteers build a STEM MX profile • Target demographic: All Utah teachers/students including what they could teach or mentor • Subject matter: STEM – Profiles include education, STEM expertise and availability Business model • Teachers can list a need or offering • Free to users, funded by state and corporate partners – App platform matches volunteer with teacher’s need based on mutual experience, location, – Collaboration between the Utah Governor’s Office of and availability Economic Development and the Department of Workforce Services • STEM MX connects Utah professionals – Corporate partners include Dell EMC, Comcast, Boeing, with classrooms Adobe, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, etc Delivery model “Creating tools that help educators leverage the talents of skilled professionals to activate students into • STEM Mentor Exchange (MX) is a tool developed STEM careers has a clear impact on economic development. Providing educators streamlined by the STEM Partners Foundation ways to reach industry experts and integrate them into their curriculum will accelerate the – STEM workforce development efforts of over 30 success of our students.” industry, education, and government entities who Cydni Tetro, President of theWomen Tech Council formed the STEM Utah Industry Coalition in 2013 • Available online and in app version
STEM Mentor Exchange is light-touch volunteer matching service platform, pairing expertise with classroom needs Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 70 NetPals: Volunteer pairing to increase exposure to STEM mentors
Company overview Products/services Key learnings for Citizen Schools • Mission: Provide students with exposure to • Volunteer cultivates a relationship with their • Local Cambridge companies see NetPals as STEM careers to increase diversity in STEM student through a mix of digital and in- an investment; cultivating talent pools and • Established: 1999; Headquarters: Cambridge, MA person interaction; goal is to provide career interest for their future businesses mentorship and exposure to STEM • Reach: • NetPals invests time to make the volunteers – 15 corporate partners, providing 260 volunteer mentors – Program is active in three Cambridge public schools • Volunteer corresponds with student match seem personable and approachable to weekly by email and meets in person students: • Reach: 7th grade three times throughout the school year • Subject Matter: STEM – Touchpoints include students hearing volunteers Business model discuss their work and career paths at school visits, meeting volunteers for lunch at their • Corporate and university partners provide offices, receiving office tours, and financial resources and recruit volunteer mentors corresponding over email throughout the year • Partners include: the Broad Institute of MIT and • Volunteers may also reach students other Harvard, IBM, Novartis, etc. than their mentees; professionals from Google, MIT, and Volpe have presented at Delivery model assemblies in schools where they volunteer • Program pairs career scientists and engineers with seventh-grade students in Cambridge – Coordination done through Cambridge public schools and companies – Roughly half of Cambridge public school students are low-income; NetPals exposes students to career opportunities they might not otherwise access
NetPals is low-touch, but succeeds in providing students with exposure to STEM careers through volunteers Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 71 Mass STEM Hub Non-profit promoting and supporting STEM educational programs
Company overview Products / Services • Mission: Provide schools with access to and support • Mass STEM Hub identifies and promotes • Assessment to evaluate program for that engages premier STEM programming STEM curriculum/programming that have effectiveness and student outcomes students and prepares them for college and 21st proven successful century careers – Administrated by Abt Associates – First and largest offering is Project Lead the – Assessments are mandatory for all • Established: 2016; Headquarters: MA Way grant recipients, and also highly • Reach: 145+ schools in MA with PLTW curriculum > PLTW is premier provider of scale project encouraged for non-grant recipients based learning schools • Target demographic: All schools, focus on public schools for funding support – Next initiative is ST Math – Create results dashboard for schools to show impact of the class on STEM st > Digital, interactive math curriculum game • Subject matter: STEM, 21 Century Skills interest and knowledge Business model • Mass Stem Hub is a program of the One8 Foundation, a MA educational philanthropy org • Teacher support for implementing PLTW • Industry partners support events, • Also receives financial support through its curriculum financially and through volunteers, to founding sponsors GE, National Grid, others – PLTW Learning Teams are space for teams of supplement school curriculum • Various industry partners sponsor events such as ~15 teachers teaching the same PLTW – Events include competitions, showcases, the science fairs and competitions project to connect and drive their own learning college and career fairs Delivery model – Seek industry volunteers to help in – PLTW professional development classroom settings • MSH promotes selected STEM programming to MA – Collaborative Teaching Prize schools and provides financial and structural support to schools to adopt/strengthen programs – Mass Stem Hub Teacher Coaching • MA public schools can apply for targeted PLTW grant for up to $20k
Mass STEM Hub serves as a “general contractor,” identifying proven STEM curricula, providing support for schools and planning supplemental events all with the goal of scaling MA STEM education programs quickly Source: Company website
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 72 APPENDIX
Demand for STEM, project-based learning, 21st Century skills, SEL, and volunteers
Competitive and partner landscape
Company case studies
Citizen Schools 1:1s perspectives
Primary research materials
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 73 What we heard in 1:1s with Citizen Schools: Strengths of Catalyst
Leverages strengths of ELT in a lower Offers an alternative, lower commitment Uses strength of building relationships dosage, more scalable model volunteer opportunity to portfolio with/between corporations & schools
“Our aim is to take the best of the “Companies want access to more volunteer “We have an unique ability to bring corporate apprenticeship model and make it more opportunities…we can talk to them about a partners and schools together. We speak both scalable, sustainable, and cost efficient.” menu of options for volunteers.” their languages, our capabilities here are really strong.” “We hope there might be a way to expand our “ELT is so much. When we bring up Catalyst with reach and serve more students in the “We are really good at building, bridging, and partners they say, ‘4-5 sessions? Oh that’s communities we seek to serve.” sustaining relationships. We are connectors, nice and much easier, I think I can find more we make connections organically that wouldn’t people.’” “We want to take the nucleus of ELT and what otherwise happen.” we learned outside of the classroom and bring it into the classroom.” “Some corporate partners have been unable to “We develop relationships between schools and commit to the timing of ELT and want corporations that connect to the future of work. “It’s a scale play to help schools and teacher something that’s lighter touch.” We’re best at bridging those worlds.” implement the learnings and core philosophy of Citizen Schools of the 20+ years.”
Q: What excites you about Catalyst? Q: What excites partners about Catalyst? Q: What are Citizen Schools’ core capabilities?
Source: Citizen Schools 1:1s
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 74 What we heard in 1:1s with Citizen Schools: Potential challenges of Catalyst
Ability to deliver a scalable, Capacity to provide supply Internal debate over Course catalog is overly high quality product given of volunteers, especially in whether volunteer matching limited and focused on resource constraints partnership model is increasingly crowded science vs. all of STEM
“What keeps me up right now is “If we partner and only provide the “Volunteer mobilization is our “We need more curriculum. We not having the capacity to offer volunteer element, we have to be core capability, but we’ve lost are only focused on science now. a quality product.” really good at volunteer our edge and others are catching We need to expand into other sourcing. I get concerned about up. A lot of organizations realize areas to be more attractive.” “We have to scale with capacity.” they have to offer volunteer quality…we have to measure , so the space feels connections “Only offering two curricula really student impact well…we have to a bit more crowded.” “Some of our muscle and limits our ability to recruit scale a supply of high quality institutional knowledge has left volunteers and mentors with volunteers and teachers.” the building on volunteer “We’re satisfaction.” not the only organization matching. We would have to that matches volunteers. We’ve double down [if we pursued been the only one doing it during “The quality of Catalyst today is not “Narrow curriculum offering partnership model].” the after-school hours.” what we want it to be. It comes restricts volunteer interest. If down to capacity, I don’t think we we had a Science, Technology, have the “We do not have the capacity for time or resources “A lot of schools have people Engineering, and Math curricula it currently to develop a quality civic engagement we need at coming during the school day.” would be easier to recruit.” offering.” the regional or national level.”
Q: What concerns you about Q: What concerns you about Q: What concerns you about Q: What concerns you about Catalyst? Catalyst? Catalyst? Catalyst? Source: Citizen Schools 1:1s
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 75 What we heard in 1:1s with Citizen Schools: Differing opinions of Catalyst
Lack of alignment on Mixed reactions to Conflicting views on the Most believe in some virtual prioritization of STEM, SEL, broadening schools served, importance of being the touch points, but unclear on and 21st Century skills even as a revenue generator general contractor right virtual/in-person mix
“SEL comes first, especially for “If there’s a way that working with “I like being the lead, and my “We’re shying away because so the students that we’re serving. higher income communities can hunch is that being the general many people are doing it 21st Century skills next. STEM offset the cost for low-income contractor will be more digitally. We should prioritize is last…our children cannot move students. That doesn’t feel like appealing to institutional in-person, but I think we could forward until they believe in such a shift, because then it investors. But if the partner was find a happy medium between themselves.” becomes a way we reach our a large national collaboration in-person and digital delivery.” mission.” with a massive footprint, that “Academic support is most could be extremely attractive.” “We have never done it, but we important. Teachers are not as “Opening up Catalyst to middle should do it. Virtual mentorship concerned with SEL. They need and high-income schools could doesn’t necessarily sacrifice support on STEM.” be a huge distraction and “Being the general contractor quality.” create all sorts of division with doesn’t matter to me, as long as “Schools are most accountable to the board and others that we the part we play isn’t swallowed “I don’t have a strong reaction to academic outcomes. If we can don’t have the bandwidth to whole. As long as the Citizen using digital tools. I think digital is have impact on hard outcomes, handle.” Schools name is there a possibility and it might be like math, vs. soft outcomes that’s somewhere, I’m fine with it.” critical to scale.” extremely powerful.”
Q: What student outcomes Q: Should Catalyst serve middle Q: How important is it that Q: Can Catalyst include a virtual should Catalyst prioritize? and high-income districts? Citizen Schools serve as GC? component for volunteers? Source: Citizen Schools 1:1s
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 76 APPENDIX
Demand for STEM, project-based learning, 21st Century skills, SEL, and volunteers
Competitive and partner landscape
Company case studies
Citizen Schools 1:1s perspectives
Primary research materials
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 77 How we defined Catalyst in primary interviews with customers
“The new product is called Catalyst and it pairs an industry professional volunteer with a teacher to deliver STEM, project- based learning in the classroom during the school day. There are four key components of the Catalyst program:
1) Curriculum - NGSS standards aligned project-based science curriculum 2) Assessment – Measure STEM concept mastery and interest in STEM careers / topics 3) Teacher PD – Support effective integration of volunteers into the classroom 4) Volunteer – Industry expert to help facilitate project and bring subject matter expertise into the classroom
Projects run 4-5 weeks at 1-2 hours per week, for a total of 8-10 hours per project. An example Catalyst project would be a Google software developer teaching a coding project in a school alongside a teacher.”
Source: Citizen Schools’ Catalyst presentations
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 78 How we defined social & emotional learning (SEL) and 21st Century skills in primary interviews with customers
21st Century skills Social & emotional learning (SEL)
• Critical thinking • Self-awareness • Creativity and imagination • Self-management • Collaboration and teamwork • Social-awareness • Problem solving • Relationship skills • Oral and written communication • Responsible decision-making • Information literacy • Empathy • Civic literacy and citizenship • Impulse control • Technology literacy • Flexibility and adaptability • Emotion recognition • Leadership • Emotion management • Initiative and self-direction • Assertiveness • Productivity and work ethic • Social responsibility and ethics
Source: CASEL, OECD, Envision, P21, Applied Education, Committee for Children
BOS 181203 Catalyst Project SteerC ... 79