Battelle for Kids

What Battelle for Kids does

Battelle for Kids is a U.S. national not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that helps K-12 public school districts and state education agencies design and implement future-ready learning frameworks anchored in its Portrait of a Graduate methodology. Its core offering is a three-stage methodology — Portrait of a Graduate (community-built vision of durable skills and competencies), Portrait to Practice (integration of those skills into curriculum and instruction), and Portrait to Impact (outcome measurement and storytelling) — operationalized through the Future-Ready Journey Map and supported by tools such as FuturesCoLab (community engagement), the Well-Being Lab, and the Leadership Lab. The organization runs three professional learning networks — EdLeader21 Network (100+ member districts across 30+ states), Complex Systems Cohort (large urban district cohort), and SOAR Ohio — and supplements consulting with Grant Services (more than $500 million secured for clients), Marketing & Communications services, and Technology Services delivered in partnership with Scholar Haven.

Revenue is generated primarily through fee-based professional services (Portrait design facilitation, strategic planning, professional development), annual network membership and participation fees (SOAR Ohio publicly priced at $7,500 per district), and grant services engagement, with the go-to-market executed via direct enterprise field sales to superintendents, chief academic officers, and state education leaders, accelerated by the EdLeader21 Network as a referral and retention channel. The organization has been acquired by AASA, The School Superintendents Association, with the strategic assets and staff transition effective July 1, 2025; a small management team and Board of Directors remain to wind down remaining affairs through approximately mid-2026.

The company's primary customer segment is K-12 public school districts and state education agencies across more than 30 states, with documented work at scale in North Carolina (statewide Portrait reaching 115 districts and 2,500+ schools), and notable district partners including Columbus City Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Howard-Suamico, Fort Worth ISD, Fresno USD, Jefferson County Public Schools, Long Beach USD, and Montgomery Public Schools.

Name

Battelle for Kids

Legal name

Battelle for Kids

Website

https://battelleforkids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Battelle for Kids is a U.S. national not-for-profit that helps K-12 public school districts and state agencies design and implement Portrait of a Graduate frameworks — community-built visions of durable skills — through consulting, professional learning networks (EdLeader21, Complex Systems Cohort, SOAR Ohio), and grant services; its strategic assets and staff were acquired by AASA effective July 1, 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilliard

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Network Membership Fees: EdLeader21 Network membership is a key revenue stream, with districts and their staff paying to join the professional learning community. The membership provides access to tools, resources, superintendent roundtables, innovation groups, and the annual event.
2. Professional Learning & Consulting Services: Battelle for Kids provides fee-based consulting services including strategic planning, Portrait of a Graduate design facilitation, professional development, and capacity-building programs. These are sold directly to school districts and state agencies.
3. SOAR Ohio Participation Fees: SOAR Ohio charges a participation fee of $7,500 per district, which includes membership in the EdLeader Promise Network and access to convenings, design studios, and coaching support.
4. Grant Services: The organization provides grant writing, evaluation, and management services to districts and state agencies, supporting pursuit and management of educational grant funding.
5. Technology Services: Battelle for Kids continues to partner with Scholar Haven to deliver personalized technology solutions to clients through a technology hub, though this is a wind-down arrangement through June 30, 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Battelle for Kids is a national not-for-profit organization that helps K-12 school districts and state agencies design and implement Portrait of a Graduate frameworks and Future-Ready Learning strategies. It delivers a portfolio of professional services including vision design facilitation, implementation coaching, community engagement tools (FuturesCoLab), innovation hubs (Well-Being Lab, Leadership Lab), grant services, and three tiered professional learning networks (EdLeader21, Complex Systems Cohort, SOAR Ohio).

Product overview

Battelle for Kids is a national not-for-profit organization offering a service-based portfolio centered on the Portrait of a Graduate framework—a community-developed vision for student success. The core offerings comprise Portrait of a Graduate (vision design), Portrait to Practice (implementation support), and Portrait to Impact (outcome measurement), supported by the Future-Ready Journey Map. Supplementary offerings include Future-Ready Essentials (Well-Being Lab, Leadership Lab innovation hubs), Grant Services, and Marketing & Communications Services. Battelle for Kids facilitates three professional networks: EdLeader21 Network (100+ member districts, 30+ states), Complex Systems Cohort (large district cohort including Fort Worth ISD, Fresno USD, Jefferson County PS, Long Beach USD), and SOAR Ohio Network (statewide Ohio network). The organization operates through strategic partnerships including AASA (integration completed July 2025), Imagine Learning (HQIM partnership), and Scholar Haven (technology services). The company recently rebranded in October 2024 with the tagline 'The Future is Ready.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Portrait of a Graduate: Shared community visions that expand the view of student success, developed with communities to identify durable skills and competencies students need for success.
• Portrait to Practice
• Portrait to Impact
• FuturesCoLab
• EdLeader21 Network
• Well-Being Lab
• Leadership Lab
• Complex Systems Cohort
• SOAR Ohio

Products and services

• Portrait of a Graduate A shared community vision service that helps K-12 school districts and state agencies identify the durable skills and competencies students need for success in enrollment, enlistment, entrepreneurship, and employment. Serves as the 'North Star' guiding educational transformation and is facilitated by Battelle for Kids consultants with community stakeholders.
• Portrait to Practice Professional learning and actionable tools that help schools operationalize their Portrait of a Graduate by integrating essential academic content with durable skills for future success in every classroom. Delivered through on-site workshops, virtual sessions, and ongoing coaching relationships.
• Portrait to Impact Framework service that uses evidence and storytelling to showcase student growth, assess knowledge and skills, and demonstrate real-world application of learning outcomes beyond standardized test scores.
• FuturesCoLab Community engagement platform tool that facilitates collaborative, unifying conversations about educational vision and the Portrait of a Graduate. Empowers districts to engage stakeholders in developing unified, locally-rooted but globally-positioned graduate visions.
• Well-Being Lab by Battelle for Kids Innovation hub service developing resources, workshops, and practices supporting comprehensive well-being of students and staff, with emphasis on agency, autonomy, hope, and resilience to counter declines in student motivation and engagement.
• Leadership Lab by Battelle for Kids Innovation hub service that develops and designs resources, training, and programs to help educational leaders drive systemic improvement, build capacity, and foster continuous learning culture in their organizations.
• Grant Services Comprehensive grant support service for education clients including proposal writing, evaluation, management, sustainability planning, grant writing workshops, partner management, and programmatic grants. The team's expertise spans foundation, state, and federal levels, with the organization having secured over $500 million in grant funding.
• Marketing & Communications Services Strategic communications support service including brand development, graphic design, messaging frameworks, video storytelling, and community engagement to help districts share their Portrait of a Graduate vision and impact with stakeholders.
• Technology Services Personalized technology solutions delivered through partnership with Scholar Haven. Clients access their personalized technology portals through the Battelle for Kids technology hub. Arrangement is in wind-down through June 30, 2026.
• EdLeader21 Network The nation's only professional learning network dedicated to Portrait of a Graduate and deeper learning. Membership spans more than 100 school districts across 30+ states and includes superintendent roundtables, innovation groups, virtual site visits, speaker series, the annual EdLeader21 Annual Event, and a collaboration platform.
• Complex Systems Cohort Premium invitation-only professional learning experience for large, complex school districts to collaborate with peers and Battelle for Kids on strategies to spread and scale deeper learning. Member districts include Fort Worth ISD, Fresno USD, Jefferson County PS, Long Beach USD, Montgomery PS, Saint Louis PS, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Members receive intensive coaching, on-site visits, convenings, and automatic EdLeader21 Network enrollment.
• SOAR Ohio Network Statewide professional learning network for Ohio superintendents supporting Portrait of a Graduate implementation and deeper learning transformation. Year-long guided journey including kickoff convenings, quarterly design studios, coaching support, and participation in the EdLeader Promise Annual Event. Participation fee is $7,500 per district for the 2025-2026 school year, now aligned with AASA's Public Education Promise.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported districts serving hundreds of school districts and state agencies nationwide, impacting millions of students
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• AASA, The School Superintendents AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2025AASA acquired Battelle for Kids' strategic assets and staff on July 1, 2025. This integration positions AASA for long-term stability and growth while maintaining the impact of the leading Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait to Practice design process. The move assists AASA in serving school leaders and districts nationwide. AASA, founded in 1865, serves more than 13,000 educational leaders.
• Imagine LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2024Imagine Learning and Battelle for Kids formed a strategic partnership merging Battelle for Kids' Portrait of a Graduate expertise with Imagine Learning's High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). The partnership aims to advance a reimagined vision for student success by combining rigorous curriculum with approaches that build both academic and durable skills.
• Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), an early pioneer in 21st-century learning, joined the Battelle for Kids family in 2018, advancing strategic partnerships and innovative resources for educators including the Framework for 21st Century Learning.
• EdLeader21coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017EdLeader21, a national network dedicated to accelerating the implementation of 21st-century deeper learning, joined the Battelle for Kids family in 2017. It is now the nation's only professional learning community dedicated to Portrait of a Graduate with members in more than 30 states.
• Scholar HavensupportingTechnology or IntegrationBattelle for Kids partnered with Scholar Haven to fulfill technology service projects and provide personalized technology solutions to clients. Scholar Haven manages client portals accessed through the Battelle for Kids technology hub. This arrangement is in place through June 30, 2026.
• Successful Practices Network (SPN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuccessful Practices Network (SPN) is listed as a partner organization. SPN Founder and Executive Chair Bill Daggett, Ed.D., collaborates with Battelle for Kids through thought leadership engagements including Futurecast Conversations.
• The COOK Center for Human DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe COOK Center for Human Development is listed as a partner organization collaborating with Battelle for Kids in advancing education transformation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• WestEd: WestEd is a non-profit education research, development, and consulting organization serving districts and states, comparable in scope to Battelle for Kids' state-level Portrait of a Graduate and durable skills work.
• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): CCSSO supports state education chiefs with policy and initiative support, comparable as a state-level counterpart to Battelle for Kids' work with departments of public instruction on statewide Portrait of a Graduate rollouts.
• AASA, The School Superintendents Association: AASA acquired Battelle for Kids' strategic assets effective July 1, 2025 and now houses the Portrait services within its national infrastructure serving 13,000+ superintendents, making it the parent platform and most direct operational comparator.
• ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development): ASCD provides professional development, publications, and consulting to educators and districts, comparable in its K-12 educator support and thought-leadership content offerings.

Direct peers

• Learning Forward: Learning Forward is the premier professional learning association for educators, offering networks, conferences, and consulting comparable to Battelle for Kids' EdLeader21 Network and professional learning services.
• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): CASEL is the leading provider of SEL frameworks, resources, and district supports to K-12 systems, directly comparable to Battelle for Kids' Well-Being Lab and Portrait of a Graduate work targeting durable skills.
• Marzano Resources: Marzano Resources offers K-12 professional development, coaching, and frameworks (e.g., High Reliability Schools) comparable to Battelle for Kids' Leader Lab and Portrait to Practice consulting offerings.
• International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE): ICLE provides leadership and curriculum consulting to districts focused on deeper learning and rigor, directly comparable to Battelle for Kids' Portrait to Practice methodology and Complex Systems Cohort.
• New Teacher Center: New Teacher Center provides coaching, consulting, and capacity-building services to K-12 districts, comparable in its relationship-driven consulting model and educator capacity-building focus.

Others

• EdSurge: EdSurge is a K-12 edtech information and community platform serving educators and district leaders, comparable as a media and community-led GTM motion supporting BFK's professional learning network ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@battelleforkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/battelle-for-kids
• Xx.com/battelleforkids
• Facebookfacebook.com/battelleforkidsorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Battelle for Kids