Orenda Education

What Orenda Education does

Orenda Education is a Santa Ana, California-based nonprofit organization (founded 2021, formerly known as Principal's Exchange) that partners with K-12 school districts to address systemic educational inequities. Its core product is the Orenda EDGE online platform, which delivers a suite of interconnected modules including the Discovery Study (a multi-module diagnostic process), the Relative Advantage Dashboard (a data visualization tool quantifying student vulnerability versus achievement), Orenda Academy, Guidance Alignment, and the Equity Network. The organization also offers the Teach Lead Counsel (TLC) Model — an integrated teaching, leadership, and counseling intervention framework — supported by the publication "Where Equity Lives" co-authored by founder Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle.

Orenda monetizes through a hybrid nonprofit revenue model combining government grants (most notably a $4 million Education Innovation and Research Grant from the U.S. Department of Education awarded in 2024 over four years), fee-based professional development events (e.g., the Orenda Acceleration Summit at $595 per participant and Guidance Alignment Series courses), state-grant-funded district partnerships, and private donations. Go-to-market is enterprise field-sales oriented, relying on direct relationships with district and site administrators, counseling teams, and expanded-day partners, supplemented by thought leadership at conferences hosted by ACSA, CALSA, CABE, and referrals from existing partner districts.

The organization operates with 11-50 employees and currently concentrates on California-based K-12 districts, with explicit intent to scale nationally via the EIR Grant and its strategic affiliate partnership with Think Together. Customer outcomes reported on its own materials include a 25% increase in 4-year cohort graduation rate, 18% increase in A-G completion rate, and 24% decrease in dropout rate over five years, alongside 39% and 42% gains in ELA and math achievement respectively over nine years.

Name

Orenda Education

Legal name

Orenda Education

Website

https://orendaed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Orenda Education is a California-based nonprofit that partners with K-12 school districts to address systemic educational inequities through the Orenda EDGE online platform, diagnostic frameworks (Discovery Study, Relative Advantage Dashboard), and the Teach Lead Counsel model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Equity Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Access & EdTech for Equity (Low-cost Learning, Skills Platforms) (BPAGALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Success, Advising & Case Management (Retention) Platforms (EDAFAMAH), Equity, Inclusion & Civil Rights Reporting (Disparities, Access, Outcomes) (EDADAIAH)

Keywords

• Educational equity consulting
• Professional development services
• K-12 student support
• Equity driven systems
• School district partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Ana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: Orenda Education received a $4 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Grant from the U.S. Department of Education over four years to build out the TLC model and scale to reach more schools.
2. Professional Development Events: Fee-based training events, summits, and workshops such as the Orenda Acceleration Summit ($595 per participant) and Guidance Alignment Series courses.
3. District Partnerships: Partnerships with school districts to provide equity-driven systems, student support services, and professional development programs. Funded through state grants enabling programs for students.
4. Donations: Private funding through donations allows Orenda to increase the number of students served, train staff, and purchase curriculum and materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Orenda Education partners with K-12 school districts to deliver equity-driven systems, professional development, and consulting services that address systemic inequities and accelerate student outcomes. The organization provides the Orenda EDGE online platform, structured Guidance Alignment courses, the Teach Lead Counsel (TLC) model, and diagnostic tools such as Baseline Systems Studies and the Relative Advantage Dashboard.

Product overview

Orenda Education offers a unified product portfolio centered on the Orenda EDGE online platform, which delivers multiple interconnected modules including the Discovery Study/Condition Setting process, Relative Advantage Dashboard, Orenda Academy, Guidance Alignment, and Equity Network. These modules work together as a comprehensive school effectiveness and equity improvement system. The portfolio also includes the Guidance Alignment Series (GA 101-201) professional development courses, the Teach Lead Counsel (TLC) Model program, Baseline Systems Studies diagnostic tool, and the Where Equity Lives publication. The EIR Grant enables scaling of the TLC Model across California and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Orenda EDGE Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% increase in 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate over 5 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2024Orenda Education partnered with SJCOE for their Curriculum Breakfast event where Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle presented 'Equity Love is in the Details,' exploring the five most common systemic inequity traps in education.
• Association of California School Administrators (ACSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2024ACSA and Orenda Education partner for the ACSA Equity Institute and other professional development events. Orenda presents at ACSA Leadership Summit and other ACSA conferences on educational equity topics.
• CALSAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 March 2024CALSA (California Association of School Administrators) and Orenda Education co-host events including networking dinners and the CALSA Women's Leadership Network Symposium. CALSA is a premier statewide advocate for providing every student with access to an excellent education.
• CABEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 March 2024CABE (California Association for Bilingual Education) co-hosted a Networking Dinner and Reception with CALSA featuring Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle. CABE is a premier statewide advocate for educational excellence.
• Think TogethercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Think Together is Orenda Education's expanded learning affiliate, with whom they jointly received the $4 million EIR Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Together they are building out the innovative Teach Lead Counsel (TLC) model and scaling to reach more schools throughout California and beyond.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TNTP: TNTP partners with school districts on teacher effectiveness, school leadership, and equitable student outcomes—offering comparable district-level consulting and capacity-building services aimed at closing achievement gaps.
• Learning Forward: Learning Forward is the leading professional association for educator learning, providing professional development standards, training, and conferences—a comparable platform model to Orenda Academy and Guidance Alignment Series.
• WestEd: WestEd is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, and service agency that partners with K-12 districts and state agencies on equity-focused improvement, professional development, and system diagnostics—directly comparable to Orenda's consulting and PD model.
• Great Schools Partnership: Great Schools Partnership works with New England and national schools on equity-centered school redesign, proficiency-based learning, and leadership development—directly comparable to Orenda's equity systems and leadership alignment work.
• Education Trust: Education Trust is a national nonprofit focused on closing opportunity gaps for low-income and students of color through research, advocacy, and direct engagement with school districts—overlapping with Orenda's equity systems work and district partnership approach.
• Education Northwest: Education Northwest is a nonprofit that works with schools, districts, and states to improve outcomes for underserved students through research, technical assistance, and capacity building—closely parallel to Orenda's equity-driven systems work in K-12.
• Annenberg Institute at Brown University: The Annenberg Institute conducts education research and partners with districts and states on improvement, with strong emphasis on equity and evidence-based practice—closely aligned to Orenda's diagnostic-driven, equity-centered methodology.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation Education Division: RAND's education division conducts research and provides consulting on K-12 policy, equity, and school improvement—overlapping with Orenda's diagnostic and equity work but at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Jobs for the Future: JFF is a national nonprofit driving transformation in education and workforce systems to advance economic mobility—broader in scope than Orenda but comparable in working with districts and states on equity and college/career outcomes.
• American Institutes for Research: AIR is a large nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization with substantial K-12 practice, providing technical assistance, evaluation, and capacity building—comparable to Orenda's district-level consulting at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OrendaEd
• Facebookfacebook.com/OrendaEd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orendaed
• Instagraminstagram.com/orendaed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orenda Education