How Schools Can Center Student and Teacher Wellbeing

As schools unveil their reopening plans for the fall, the need to address student and educator mental health and wellbeing must take priority, even before concerns about getting students caught up academically. Students will have a harder time learning and teachers will not be as effective if schools don’t tend to the trauma and stress that many of them lived through this past year. Here are three ways that your school can support students and educators when they return to school.

Launching NewSchools Catapult: Invent 2016!

In July 2015 we launched NewSchools Catapult, a program to invest in and support education entrepreneurs launching new schools with innovative instructional models. We recently announced NewSchools Catapult 2015, a cohort of 14 trailblazing district and charter schools that are reimagining PREK-12 education by personalizing learning and giving students greater agency over their experience. Innovation takes many […]

A closer look at K12 edtech funding in 2014

Bolstered by a strong Q1 and Q3, venture investment in K12 education technology was up 32% in 2014 totaling $642 million (

Seneca Goes “All-In!” on Education

Michael’s school career got off to a rough start. It was only the first week of kindergarten, and he started kicking, biting, and pinching his teacher. His teacher tried every technique she knew to stop him. Not surprisingly, Michael’s teacher resorted to sending him to the principal’s office. Soon, Michael was spending less than 20% of his school day in the classroom.

Treating Trauma in Our Schools

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