Courage to Lead
2025 Annual Report
A Letter from CEO Frances Messano
When I think about 2025, I can’t help but reflect on what the year demanded of all of us. It was a deeply challenging time in education: constrained resources, shifting policies, and rising student needs. And yet, across the NewSchools community, I witnessed something powerful: courage.
Leaders stood firm in their values. We made hard choices to stay focused on students. Time and again, we chose purpose over fear. And when the work felt heavy, we leaned on one another. We found perspective in community, shared practical ideas, and made room for joy.
This report tells the story of that collective courage and the impact of focused, strategic, resilient action. It lifts up what’s working.
Our school case studies highlight the models and practices driving promising results: 80% of our portfolio schools matched or outperformed similar schools in reading; 75% did so in math.
We are seeing that with responsible design and implementation, AI-enabled learning solutions can expand access to rigorous content and personalized support, enable timely, actionable assessments, and help ensure that every student — including those with learning differences — is well supported.
New approaches to reimagine the role of teachers are creating local communities of care and strengthening teacher practice and support, ensuring both teachers and their students thrive.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we invested over $28 million in 86 ventures selected from more than 1,600 applications. We identified bold new innovators, and reinvested in the most promising ventures poised for breakthrough impact.
Together, we reached nearly 3 million students and over half a million educators. And, thanks to significant new philanthropic investments secured in 2025, we’re heading into 2026 with strength and ambition to grow our impact.
The challenges are real, but so are the wins. I’m proud to walk alongside this community, choosing courage to build what’s next. Read on to learn more and join us!
With appreciation,
Frances Messano
Chief Executive Officer
About NewSchools
OUR VISION
We envision an education system that fulfills its promise to all students. There’s a better way to advance education through philanthropy — one that is more equitable, more collaborative, and more courageous — and we’re proving it every day.
OUR MISSION
NewSchools is a venture philanthropy that builds a better education system by connecting people, resources, and ideas. We invest in the ideas and energy of education leaders and entrepreneurs who are advancing innovative solutions that expand the definition of what works and create new possibilities for all students.
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We completed the second year of our 2024-26 strategy, investing in education leaders and entrepreneurs advancing innovative solutions that expand the definition of what works.
million+ invested
funded ventures
total applicants
2025 Snapshot
We completed the second year of our 2024-26 strategy, investing in education leaders and entrepreneurs advancing innovative solutions that expand the definition of what works.
2025 INVESTMENTS
VENTURE LEADERS
INVESTMENT BY FOCUS AREA
MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE
In addition to financial support, NewSchools provides comprehensive and customized management assistance that empowers ventures to thrive. As a result, ventures have grown their organizations, reach, and impact.
2025 VENTURE REACH
WHAT ARE LEADERS SAYING
“There is a focus on innovation, wisely coupled with pragmatic support. ... The coaching conversations and launch year support were very helpful in implementing ideas.”
-Innovative Schools Venture Leader
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Investment Overview
We believe the genius to create an excellent and equitable education system already exists in our nation, in our communities, and that new ideas must have the support they need to grow. That’s why NewSchools offers not just funding, but partnership and support, to innovators who seek to build strong schools and organizations dedicated to a more just future in education. To get there, we support entrepreneurs in four investment areas: Innovative Schools, Learning Solutions, Teaching Reimagined, and Learning Differences.
Investment Area Impact
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Beyond the First Year
Our support doesn’t end after year one. We continue to fund and support ventures as they grow in the earliest stages, helping them strengthen their models, scale their impact, and contribute to an education system that delivers on its promise to all students. This snapshot highlights a selection of the accomplishments, awards, and recognition our ventures achieved in 2025.
ALTURA PREPATORY SCHOOL
Co-directed by Meaghan Hindman and Lissa Hines, Altura Preparatory School is a K–5 public charter school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ranked the third best elementary school in the state by U.S. News. Serving 268 students, Altura reports strong academic outcomes, with proficiency rates of 94% for ELA, 87% for Math, and 91% for reading in the 2024-25 school year.
COURSEMOJO
Led by Dacia Toll, Coursemojo is an ELA-aligned, AI-powered teaching assistant that helps educators diagnose learning gaps, differentiate instruction, and deliver targeted one-on-one support. In 2024–25, Sumner County’s Mojo campuses saw an 8-point increase in ELA proficiency, while non-Mojo campuses experienced a slight decline.
TEACHER-POWERED SCHOOLS
Led by Amy Junge, Teacher-Powered Schools provides hands-on coaching to help schools build distributed leadership models that increase teacher ownership and collaboration. Eighty-two percent of coached schools report stronger capacity for student-centered learning, and 45% of teachers are likely to recommend the profession — more than double the national average.
BELIEVE SCHOOLS
Founded by Kimberly Neal-Brannum, Believe Schools develops public college- and career-preparatory high schools that equip students for independence and long-term success. In a milestone year, the organization secured $10M from Bloomberg and opened BELIEVE St. Louis High School in partnership with BJC HealthCare, creating healthcare career pathways that respond to regional workforce needs.
DIVERSITY IN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Led by Laura McGowan-Robinson, the Diversity in Leadership Institute (DLI) identifies, develops and credentials culturally responsive TK–12 school leaders across California to advance more equitable outcomes for students. Since 2019, DLI has credentialed 124 leaders and successfully led advocacy efforts for a $10M California state grant to provide free credentialing for more than 300 school leaders.
THE OAKLAND REACH
Led by Lakisha Young, The Oakland REACH partners with districts to deliver family-powered tutoring and literacy models that drive measurable gains. A Northwestern University study found students in its MathBOOST program gained eight more points in math than peers. Now reaching 5,200+ students across six cities, Oakland Unified has fully adopted the Liberator Model—marking a shift from pilot to system change.
BLUE ENGINE
Led by Jessi Brunken, Blue Engine strengthens co-teaching and inclusive instruction in schools nationwide. Its data-driven coaching has tripled mastery rates for students with IEPs, doubled English proficiency growth for multilingual learners, and helped schools build stronger literacy systems.
LEADCOLLAB
Led by Lorraine Lago, LeadCoLab aims to improve the quality and sustainability of school leadership in Puerto Rico through system-wide programs that support school leaders and create a pipeline for new leadership. After participating in the institute, principals committed to staying in their role increased by 29% in Bayamón and 38% in San Juan.
ZEARN
Led by CEO & Co-Founder Shalinee Sharma, Zearn is a K–8 math learning platform rated “Strong” (Tier 1) by Evidence for ESSA. Contributing to this rating was a 2023–24 quasi-experimental study by the Center for Research & Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University of over 7,000 students in grades 4–8 across three suburban and rural Louisiana districts. The study found that schools using Zearn with dedicated implementation support significantly outperformed peers on state math assessment, with a +0.20 SD gain and consistent results across student subgroups.
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Amplifying What Works
Throughout the year, we shared solutions, success stories, and research to illuminate what’s working in education.
SUMMIT 2025
Some of the most meaningful progress happens when leaders, educators, and students come together. Amid real uncertainty for the field, Summit 2025 convened nearly 700 leaders grappling with how to move forward when the work feels harder and more important than ever. The conversations showed that progress is possible when innovation is grounded in what works and leaders move forward together — with courage and a commitment to deliver for students.
Candid discussions on leading with courage and driving a path forward during uncertainty
National leaders outlining how state-level action can stabilize public education and keep student learning at the center
Students speak up about how schools must change to make learning meaningful, relevant, and future-ready
89% of attendees agree or strongly agree that insights from Summit will influence their approaches.
BUILDING BETTER SCHOOLS CASE STUDIES
Much of this year’s momentum came from schools that are redesigning learning around student needs, purpose, and community. Our Building Better Schools hub became a central destination for stories and strategies from 29 high-performing public schools in our portfolio, including:
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
NewSchoolers presented at more than 12 major education conferences, including ASU+GSV, SXSW EDU, National Charter Schools Conference, and FullScale Symposium.
We refined our approach to Artificial Intelligence and shared our learning on the best ways AI can support students with learning differences, increase math literacy through tutoring, and improve teacher sustainability.
NewSchools CEO Frances Messano was quoted in Inside Philanthropy and Forbes, calling on funders to lead with urgency and conviction amid uncertainty. She emphasized philanthropy’s role in doubling down on education as essential to long-term opportunity, equity, and impact.
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Financial Update
NewSchools raised $90.9M in 2025. Thanks to this incredible commitment from our funding partners, we are heading into 2026 with the strength to realize our full ambitions for this strategy and develop our next one.
NewSchools’ total expenses in 2025 were $40.9M, of which 61% were investments, 28% program expenses, and 11% general and administrative and development costs. 89% of our expenses directly support venture leaders. NewSchools’ board generously covers general and administrative expenses.
2025 EXPENSES
Note: This page reflects unaudited totals as of January 31, 2026. Audited financial statements will be available here in summer 2026.
Gratitude
Thank you to everyone who supported us this year in creating new opportunities for our innovators, and the students and communities they serve. We are grateful to the leaders and organizations whose counsel and funding helped to fuel our work.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ime Archibong
Michelle Boyers
Brook Byers
Stacey Childress
Cori Duncan, Board Chair
Frances Messano
Angel Morales
Amy Rodde
Paula Sneed
Charlie Wolfson, Board Vice Chair
John Doerr, Lifetime Director
Kim Smith, Lifetime Director
FUNDING PARTNERS
Gifts of $50,000 or more
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Give Forward Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Steve and Sue Mandel
Margulf Foundation
Merrill Family Foundation
Oak Foundation
Overdeck Family Foundation
Robertson Foundation
Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
Tandem Philanthropies
Valhalla Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Yield Giving
Anonymous (3)
Arrow Impact
Ballmer Group
Bezos Family Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Byers Family
Carnegie Corporation of New York
City Fund
Tammy and Bill Crown
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
John and Ann Doerr
Echo Creek Charitable Fund
Eckle Family Philanthropic Fund
The Everleaf Fund for Literacy
Gates Foundation
In addition, we would like to thank all of our donors, board members, and Summit conference scholarship sponsors for their financial support.
2025 Ventures
Ventures that received investments in 2025 are listed below. Learn more about all of our ventures here.
INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS
APS Internationals High School
Arcadia High School
Autism Collier Charter School
Butler Academy HS
Central Brooklyn Literacy Academy
Do & Be Arts Academy of Excellence
Dr. Arleen B Kennedy Academy of Excellence
Elm Community Charter School
Fort Worth STEAM Academy
Georgia Accelerated Career Academy
Greater Atlanta Preparatory School
Honor Prep Charter School
I Dream Big Academy
Independence Preparatory Academy
Innova Academy
Invictus Nashville Charter School
Jackson Museum School
Launch Expeditionary LearningCharter High School
The Meliora School
MOXIE Public Schools
The Museum School of East Dallas
Namahana School
Pathway Academy
Queens International 6-12 School
Rock Academy
Sledge Institute
Maritime|253
Tampa Early College Academy
Treasure Coast School for Autism
xS.T.R.E.A.M. Minds Academy
TEACHING REIMAGINED
LEARNING SOLUTIONS
ALL in Education
CommunityShare
Teacher-Powered Schools
Indigitize, a project of One Generation
Journify Learning
Relay Graduate School of Education
Thrive
Uppercase
The Urban Assembly
ADDITIONAL REINVESTMENTS
Camelback Ventures
Diversity in Leadership Institute
Latinos For Education
LeadCoLab
Lead Liberated
Pahara Institute
Surge Institute
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The ASSISTments Foundation
BrainScience Works
California Indian Museum and Cultural Center
CitySchools Collaborative
Cultivating Literacy
The Dyscalculia Training & Research Institute
FULCRUM
Goblins
Grokkoli
Hola Books
The Lexsee Reading Company
Lit
LUCA AI
Magpie Literacy
New Classrooms
Oko Labs
PeerTeach
Snorkl
Step Up Tutoring
Talkido
Teachley
Thinkverse
UnboundED
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Utah
Unruly Studios
Vinn Labs
Young Data Scientists League
LEARNING DIFFERENCES
The Ability Challenge
All Means All School Leadership Program
Celebrate EDU
Diverse Learners Cooperative
Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children
Emote Education Inc
Fair Schools
The Inspired Community Project, Inc.
Intersection Collective
Playground IEP
True Measure Collaborative
Uprooted Academy