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A Focus on Impact

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Our portfolio companies spend every day removing obstacles and working to overcome challenges students and workers have to get a good education and a good job.

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Nov 14, 2025

4

min read

News & Updates

Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 11/14

In this week's News Roundup, we've found stories about leveraging innovative strategies, technology, and targeted interventions to address pressing educational and workforce challenges. From the resurgence of community colleges and non-degree credentials to the ethical integration of AI in classrooms and efforts to combat learning loss, a shared focus emerges on expanding access, improving quality, and preparing diverse student populations for the evolving economy.

Nov 12, 2025

1

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Noodle Partners

CCA & Noodle Win Big In The Annual Education Digital Marketing Awards

Time to celebrate 🎉 We’re excited to share that CCA and its parent company Noodle collectively brought home 24 national awards in this year’s Education Digital Marketing Awards, which recognize the best work in digital higher ed marketing and communications! A panel of education marketers, creative directors, and industry pros reviewed more than 1,000 entries across multiple categories. Our winning work covered it all—social campaigns, microsites, digital media campaigns, video series,...

Nov 7, 2025

4

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News & Updates

Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 11/7

The articles featured in this week's News Roundup shine a light on a common thread: technology and smarter workforce linkages are reshaping education for today’s job market. From data-driven career coaching and expanded apprenticeships to virtual career fairs and AI-enabled learning, edtech and workforce development firms have opportunities to widen access, align curricula with in-demand skills, and support responsible, humane use of AI in student success and mental health.

Nov 5, 2025

3

min read

News & Updates

Mantra Health Renews Partnership with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area

The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area names Mantra Health as its “Preferred Partner for Mental Health and Wellness Support.” Washington, D.C. – November 5, 2025 – Mantra Health has officially renewed its partnership with the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, which names Mantra the “Preferred Partner for Mental Health and Wellness Support.” The partnership has met growing demand with accessible, affordable mental health care and is now...

Oct 31, 2025

4

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News & Updates

Edtech and Workforce Development News Roundup - 10/31

Education and workforce development continues to evolve, with recent research highlighting both exciting opportunities and pressing challenges. From the transformative potential of augmented reality in classrooms to the declining aspirations for higher education among high schoolers, and the persistent issues surrounding quality employment and mental health, these developments underscore the need for innovative solutions.

Oct 31, 2025

1

min read

News & Updates

Nairobi City Thunder Renew Partnership with Nexford

NAIROBI — Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's Premier League champions Nairobi City Thunder have received a timely boost ahead of their second appearance at the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The national champions have renewed their partnership with American-based Nexford University that will see its players benefit from scholarship opportunities. The club's head of partnerships, Marcel Awori, says the partnership goes a long way in fulfilling their mission of enhancing their players'...

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TechCrunch: BetterLesson Raises $1.6 Million To Let Educators Find And Share The Best Lesson Plans

  • NewMarketsVP
  • Sep 28, 2011
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 20, 2024

TechCrunch’s Rip Empson writes:


“Primary and high school teachers already have a hard job. It’s difficult to envy the pour souls who had the unfortunate position of educating the type of disorderly rapscallions like myself at a young age. Not to mention, enduring low wages and a system largely devoid of the same technological aids that have come to assist nearly every other profession. When it comes to the actual daily process of designing the curricula that students will follow, teachers basically have to create their own, ad hoc, every night. There are lesson plan sites, but most of the content is outdated and disorganized. Lesson plans haven’t really made the jump into the digital era.


A Boston-based startup called BetterLesson launched to address this pain point with a simple mission: Provide an easy way for educators to connect with each other and share their lessons. As Co-founder and VP of Operations Erin Osborn and Founder and CEO Alex Grodd are both former teachers themselves (and Jonathan Hendler, the third co-founder and CTO has a mom who was a career teacher), they were tired of watching as cool, original lesson plans would disappear into the folders and hard drives of obsolescence. So the founders set out to design an open, social platform to aggregate the best K thru 12 teacher-generated content….


…To help it grow, the startup has announced that it has officially closed a $1.6 million series A round of venture funding from a host of venture firms, including Highland Capital Partners, General Catalyst, New Markets Ventures, and NewSchools Venture Fund — as well as angel investors like Steve Kaufer of Trip Advisor, Matt Greenfield (Stonework Capital), and Shawn and Jennifer Carolan of Menlo Ventures, NewSchools Venture Fund, and more.”



 
 
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