Siegel Family Endowment Awards Over $10.4 Million to Support Tech Innovation Across K-12 and Workforce

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Aug 27, 2024, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Siegel Family Endowment, a foundation focused on shaping the impact of technology on society, announced over $10.4 million in grants to 28 organizations working at the intersection of learning, workforce, and infrastructure.

"Innovation is core to creating our collective vision for a more equitable and community-driven education system," said Joshua Elder, vice president and head of grantmaking of Siegel Family Endowment. "By funding initiatives that harness emerging technology, support teachers on the ground, and continue to increase access to quality computer and data science education, we're not just enhancing educational tools—we are also critically assessing how the learner ecosystem can be reimagined to consider the whole learner, whole school, and whole community."

The 28 organizations receiving grants are:

"Our goal is to ensure that technology serves the educational landscape, empowering students, educators, and practitioners to drive the development of the tools they truly need," said Katy Knight, president and executive director of Siegel Family Endowment. "We're excited to collaborate with these organizations in a shared inquiry as they address a broad range of critical areas essential for building a learning ecosystem that empowers every student to thrive in our increasingly digital world."

Creation and Deployment of Responsible Educational Technology
Investing in the creation and deployment of responsible educational technology is crucial for ensuring that innovative tools enhance the experiences of both learners and teachers.

Leaders like The Lean Lab, who participate in edtech research and development processes, will help Siegel to support whole-system efforts to enhance edtech selection, implementation, and evaluation within K-12 edtech adoption. SETDA, which conducts the annual State EdTech Trends survey and report, helps to empower state education agency leaders and policymakers to deepen their understanding of the ed tech landscape and advocate for their priorities. Quill and Common Sense Media will promote the development, efficacy, and use of AI-powered educational tools to explore how AI shapes education, can be leveraged to drive deeper student learning, and equitably support educators.

Build and Supporting the Educational and Workforce Ecosystem
To build a more equitable, agile, and multidimensional learning ecosystem, future-ready models of learning will need to be tested and scaled to create new opportunities for learners and their communities. Organizations like Building 21, CommunityShare, Big Thought and The History Co:Lab, Realign Education, Transcend Inc., ASU Foundation, Aurora Institute, and Project Invent are leading in this work.

The Alder Graduate School of Education project is rethinking the role of the educator by removing barriers of entry to the teaching profession, bolstering longevity in the profession, and expanding teacher leadership. Reimagine America's Schools will help community and city leaders in Atlanta to create the conditions for community-led transformation, building a learning ecosystem around schools and outside of the classroom. CORI will develop and share best practices for connecting rural tech workers with local and national employers. Pursuit is working to scale its research and development lab for creating a model of economic opportunity in the tech industry.

Expanding Access to STEM
Initiatives that focus on creating equitable access to quality computer and data science education are vital to making sure that all students can thrive in the digital age. By fostering collaboration with CSforALL, Data Science 4 Everyone, CSTA, WeTeach_CS, ECEP, Institute for Advancing Computing Education, Project Tomorrow, and Robin Hood L+T Fund, we can more effectively align and advance our efforts towards a shared vision and scaled impact. The work of STEM From Dance inspires creativity and empowerment within young women of color by integrating STEM education into the arts.

About Siegel Family Endowment:
Siegel Family Endowment employs an inquiry-driven approach to grantmaking that is informed by the scientific method and predicated on the belief that philanthropy is uniquely positioned to address some of the most pressing and complex issues facing society today. Our grantmaking strategy positions us to be society's risk capital. We support high quality work that will help us derive insights to timely questions and has high potential for future scale. Our focus is on organizations doing work at the intersection of learning, workforce, and infrastructure. We aim to help build a world in which all people have the tools, skills, and context necessary to engage meaningfully in a rapidly changing society. Siegel Family Endowment was founded in 2011 by David Siegel, co-founder and co-chairman of financial sciences company Two Sigma.

SOURCE Siegel Family Endowment