SAN DIEGO, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Cambiar Education, in partnership with Tyton Partners and with support from the Walton Family Foundation, Overdeck Family Foundation, and Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, launched a new $3 million Thrive Grant program to surface new, breakthrough solutions that provide parents and caregivers with easy-to-obtain, meaningful, and actionable information about their child’s K-12 education and development.
Cambiar Education created the Thrive Grant to initiate new, innovative approaches to how student data is shared with families and ensure they have the information they want and need to best support their child in the classroom and beyond. The Cambiar Thrive Grant will award a total of $3 million in the amounts of $50,000 - $250,000 to grantees, and seeks to attract a wide range of organizations and leaders who are driving the most promising change efforts. This includes organizations working with historically underserved communities, K-12 schools and districts, community-based organizations, education providers, and researchers.
“Parents are powerful partners and can truly help unlock student potential. Getting a real window and insight into a child’s experiences – through academics, peers, and things that spark their passion – lets parents discover and amplify their child’s strengths and nurture their interests,” said Christina Heitz, CEO and Founder of Cambiar Education.
Parents and caregivers play an essential role in their child’s education and want information to help them navigate their child’s learning journey. As families look for ways to understand the academic and development losses students suffered during the pandemic and where to focus their energy and resources, insight about students is key. “I have two students in public schools. Having the right information about how my kids are doing is so important,” said Leslie Berry, a parent in the San Antonio Independent School District. “It helps me advocate for my children and understand how I can work with the school to help my kids be successful.”
Student data is available but not user-friendly or not equally accessible to all families, and there is little understanding of the different needs of families. Pew Research indicates systemic inequities such as limited access to technology and Wi-Fi and data platforms that aren’t mobile friendly. Additionally, data families do receive can lead to a narrow understanding of student abilities and/or a narrow pathway to success.
“We need fresh, new approaches – human and digital – when it comes to student data, so that families in communities across the U.S. can effectively use these important insights and engage in their child’s education and learning in meaningful ways,” said Nick Kind, Managing Director at Tyton Partners.
Applications are being accepted through March 31, 2023. For more information about the Cambiar Thrive Grant and how to apply, visit https://cambiareducation.submittable.com/submit.
“Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption.” Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C. (June 22, 2021) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/
About Cambiar Education
Cambiar Education is a nonprofit venture design studio focused on student success and equity. Our mission is to spark positive change by scaling bold ideas that massively accelerate student success for ALL. We partner with Change Agents to bring game-changing ideas to fruition, and operate Cambiar Initiatives that unlock human potential and cultivate communities to create a more equitable world.
About Tyton Partners
Tyton Partners is designed to be different. As the only advisor dedicated to the rapidly evolving Global Knowledge Sector, we have assembled a team of consultants, bankers, principal investors, operators, and educators to deliver industry-defining insights to power executives’ and investors’ critical decisions. For more information, visit tytonpartners.com.
About the Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Overdeck Family Foundation
Overdeck Family Foundation was established in 2011 by John and Laura Overdeck, with the
goal of providing all children the opportunity to unlock their potential. The Foundation focuses
exclusively on enhancing education, funding efforts both inside and outside of school in the
areas of early childhood, informal STEM education, and K-9 programs that include supporting
educators and student-centered learning environments. To learn more, visit overdeck.org.
About the Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation
Founded in 1974 by Beth and Ravenel Curry, the Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation’s mission is to make lasting, positive impacts on the lives of others by supporting effective, inspiring, and innovative leaders and organizations that are identifying and intervening at the source of societal challenges. The Foundation focuses its efforts in the areas of poverty alleviation, effective education, and medical research. The Foundation supports programs consistent with public policies that are designed to promote individual freedom and economic liberty.
MEDIA CONTACT: Carla Punsalan McLoughlin carla@cambiareducation.org
