April 13, 2016
Voqal Education aims to educate and empower the public to foster a stronger, healthier democracy. With a goal of reducing opportunity gaps in education, the Voqal Education Venture Fund seeds innovators and change-makers already working in the educational space with funding and other resources. To this end, Voqal recently invested in three organizations working to address inequality in education.
Nepris
Plano, Texas-based Nepris is a technology platform that helps expose students to curriculum, role models and information about STEM-focused careers. This technology allows teachers to enter their curriculum needs and then pairs them with professionals with matching skill sets who have previously committed to volunteer time. The investment Nepris received from Voqal will help achieve the goal of reducing the opportunity gap faced by minority, rural and low-income individuals in STEM careers by exposing students to the excitement and benefits of these careers early in their education.
Education Modified
Boston-based Education Modified delivers cutting-edge, research focused strategies for every special need to improve outcomes for diverse learners, within a teacher’s daily workflow. The technology plugs into existing lesson-planning packages, and enables teachers to adapt lessons for a vast array of special needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism, etc.), ensuring every student gets optimized instruction. The investment Education Modified received from Voqal will help this organization address the opportunity gap by leveraging technology to provide educators with job-embedded, research-based professional development that increases collaboration and ultimately improves the outcomes for students with diverse needs.
Pairin
Denver-based Pairin has created the Pairin Readiness Management SystemTM, a cloud-based solution for developing and tracking the growth of the essential skills of success in students. The solution measures the growth of these skills to validate program effectiveness, develop non-academic skills and influence the personalization of education for students. The investment Pairin received from Voqal will help address the opportunity gap by making education more relevant for students and their future employers.