Blog post by Lindsy Gamble
As noted on the site of former LearnLaunch Accelerator company Education Modified, “the collective memory of a student’s teachers—past and present—is one of the most valuable resources available to [his or her] future success in education and beyond.” Yet with the unique challenges facing special education teachers and thus the incredibly high resignation rate within five years, that resource could very well be unavailable to future educators without the right tools.
Designed by teachers for teachers, Education Modified recognizes the dual functions required of special ed teachers—in a nutshell, balancing the job of teaching pupils of varying needs with the extensive data collection and compliance paperwork necessary—and has developed tools to improve both, ultimately providing students with the best education possible. Their platform leverages technology to deliver cutting-edge instruction strategies, access to personalized student biographies, and special ed compliance assistance. It has already been rolled out in schools in New York City, Maine, and Massachusetts, with Phoenix Charter Academy in Springfield, MA, as the latest client to sign up. Those teachers using EdMod have self-reported that they feel more confident, more prepared, and more supported teaching students with special needs.
Founder and CEO Melissa Corto, who taught in a NYC Title I high school for 9 years while also mentoring new teachers and coaching girls’ varsity basketball, says that 2017 is going to be an incredibly busy year for the team. They just opened a convertible note for a seed round last month, hoping to add to their current investors (ARC Capital Development, Voqal, and LearnLaunch). Rather than introduce any new products, they are working to improve upon the existing one, covering the full spectrum of content from before and after children are diagnosed with disabilities. They currently have a full team of awesome content creators and are not looking to bring on new hires in the near future.
Corto says her philosophy on both entrepreneurship and education have changed slightly since beginning this journey—she believes it takes longer to solve complicated problems with innovation in the field of education; thus, support is essential for entrepreneurs and districts with more flexibility and runway in order to make a real difference sooner. Find out more information about the company and how your school can get involved at http://www.educationmodified.com.
