BARR Center

What BARR Center does

BARR Center is a St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that developed and licenses the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model, an evidence-based coaching and training system designed to improve academic, social, and emotional outcomes in K-12 schools. The organization was founded in 1999 by Angela Jerabek, a former school counselor at St. Louis Park High School, and formalized as a nonprofit entity in 2016. The BARR Model combines relationship-building practices with real-time data monitoring across eight school-wide and individual strategies, and is delivered to schools through multi-year (typically three-year) implementation cycles that include onboarding, onsite coaching visits, weekly calls, and ongoing professional development support.

BARR Center's technology footprint is modest and conventional. The organization operates a web-based BARR Member Portal (member.barrcenter.org) that provides educators with access to training materials, resources, and professional development content via standard email/password authentication. The organization uses Google Analytics for web analytics and employs data-driven assessment tools for student monitoring within the BARR Model framework, but no proprietary AI/ML, native mobile applications, or public APIs are disclosed. Supplemented by the "Most Likely to Change the World" podcast for thought leadership and an annual in-person BARR National Conference in Rancho Mirage, California (~700 attendees), BARR's product surface emphasizes human-delivered coaching and community over software.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: (1) school and district implementation contracts on multi-year subscription cycles, (2) federal grants (notably three U.S. Department of Education i3 grants totaling ~$37 million across 2010-2016, the most recent of which validated the model's evidence base at the highest What Works Clearinghouse rating), (3) state education department grants (e.g., Maine DOE funding ~100 schools using American Rescue Plan funds), and (4) conference registration fees ($1,100-$1,625 per attendee). Program pricing for schools is not publicly disclosed. As of the most recent data, the BARR Model is implemented in 450+ schools across 26 states and Washington, DC, reaching approximately 430,000 students and 95,000 educators, with documented outcomes including a 40% average reduction in course failure rates after one year and a statistically significant reduction in chronic absenteeism (19% in BARR schools versus 22% in control schools in the i3 Scale-Up study).

Name

BARR Center

Legal name

BARR Center

Website

https://barrcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BARR Center is a St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based nonprofit that licenses the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model, an evidence-based coaching and training system for K-12 schools. It serves 450+ schools across 26 states and Washington, DC, reaching 430,000 students and 95,000 educators through multi-year implementation cycles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Coaching & School Improvement Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• K-12 education coaching
• School improvement programs
• Educator professional development
• Student success interventions
• Education consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis Park

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, Others

Revenue model

1. School Implementation Contracts: BARR Center generates revenue through partnership agreements with schools and districts for implementing the BARR Model over multi-year periods (typically 3-year implementation cycles).
2. Federal Grants: Received three Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grants totaling approximately $37 million ($4.999M in 2010, $11.98M in 2013, $20M in 2016) for rigorous evaluation and scaling of the BARR Model.
3. State Education Grants: State departments of education (e.g., Maine DOE) provide grants to schools for BARR implementation using federal funds such as American Rescue Plan funding.
4. Conference Registration: Annual BARR National Conference generates revenue through attendee registration fees. Member rate: $1,100-$1,250; General rate: $1,475-$1,625.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BARR Center delivers the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model, an evidence-based coaching and training system that helps K-12 schools improve student, teacher, and school-level outcomes through relationship-building and data-driven strategies. The organization sells multi-year implementation partnerships (typically 3-year cycles) that include onboarding, intensive coaching visits, weekly calls, and access to a web-based member portal with training materials.

Product overview

BARR Center offers the BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model as its core evidence-based coaching and training system for K-12 schools nationwide. The offering consists of the BARR Model (the primary product), supplemented by the BARR Member Portal for training delivery and access, the Most Likely to Change the World Podcast for thought leadership and outreach, and the annual BARR National Conference for professional development and community building. Together, these components provide a comprehensive system combining relationship-based coaching, data-driven practices, and ongoing support to improve outcomes for students and educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) Model An evidence-based coaching and training system that improves student, teacher, and school-level outcomes through relationship-building and data-driven approaches. The model helps schools operationalize strengths-based strategies to drive academic success. It consists of eight school-wide and individual strategies and is delivered through multi-year implementation partnerships (typically 3-year cycles) with K-12 schools and districts.
• BARR National Conference An annual in-person professional development conference for educators, administrators, and civic leaders featuring keynote speakers, workshops, breakout sessions, and networking. The conference draws nearly 700 attendees from multiple states. Registration fees: Member rate $1,100-$1,250 (Early Bird); General rate $1,475-$1,625 (Early Bird).

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% average reduction in failure rates after one year of implementation
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Maine Department of EducationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaine DOE provided grants to implement BARR across nearly 100 schools statewide. Commissioner Pender Makin serves as keynote speaker at BARR National Conference and advocates for BARR expansion.
• Education Commission of the StatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBARR founder Angela Jerabek received the James Conant Bryant Award from ECS in 2024. ECS promotes state-level adoption of effective education policies.
• The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & SpaminorOthersVenue host for the annual BARR National Conference in Rancho Mirage, California.
• National Governors AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGA selected Maine as one of five states for student and educator wellbeing initiative supporting BARR implementation. NGA is supporting BARR expansion in other states through technical support.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Panorama Education: Panorama provides K-12 social-emotional learning, student success, and wellbeing software and coaching to schools and districts. Like BARR, it focuses on evidence-based strategies to improve student outcomes and serves educators and administrators, though it is a venture-backed for-profit with a stronger technology platform orientation.
• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): CASEL is the leading national nonprofit advancing SEL frameworks in K-12 schools through research, district partnerships, and the SELect program. BARR overlaps directly in addressing student wellbeing and SEL through structured school-wide approaches, and both target district and state-level adoption.
• Communities In Schools: Communities In Schools places trained coordinators inside K-12 schools to identify at-risk students and connect them with wraparound supports. BARR shares the same wraparound, risk-reduction, and relationship-driven ethos for at-risk K-12 students, though CIS focuses on case management while BARR focuses on school-wide coaching models.
• City Year: City Year places AmeriCorps members in K-12 schools to provide attendance, behavior, and coursework support. Like BARR, it works at the school level to reduce chronic absenteeism and course failure through relationship-based, near-peer interventions with measurable outcomes.
• Turnaround for Children: Turnaround for Children partners with under-resourced K-12 schools to build whole-child educational systems grounded in developmental science. It is comparable to BARR in targeting school-wide transformation in high-need schools with research-backed, coaching-intensive models.
• Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (RULER Approach): RULER is an evidence-based SEL framework developed at Yale that trains educators and school leaders in emotional intelligence. It is directly comparable to BARR in offering a structured, evidence-based model for SEL and wellbeing improvement in K-12 settings.
• Search Institute: Search Institute researches and promotes the Developmental Assets framework for youth thriving, partnering with schools and communities. It overlaps with BARR's strengths-based, relationship-driven approach to student success and serves a similar K-12 audience.
• Institute for Student Achievement (ISA): ISA partners with underperforming K-12 schools and districts to improve graduation rates and college readiness through coaching, curriculum, and leadership development. Like BARR, ISA focuses on evidence-based, multi-year school partnerships targeting student success outcomes.

Emerging players

• Character Lab: Character Lab is a research-backed nonprofit partnering with K-12 schools to advance character development in students. It is comparable to BARR in the SEL/character space but is more narrowly focused on character strengths rather than whole-school improvement.
• Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility: Morningside Center provides K-12 SEL and restorative practices training to educators in partnership with schools and districts. It overlaps with BARR in delivering relationship-driven, evidence-informed SEL programming to school staff.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCop1v_JGzQjIc5XPXVaVhdw
• Facebookfacebook.com/BARRCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barr-building-assets-reducing-risks-
• Instagraminstagram.com/barrcenter
• Xx.com/BarrCenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 BARR Center