TrueSchool Studio

What TrueSchool Studio does

TrueSchool Studio is a New Orleans-based nonprofit education organization founded in 2012 by Amy Vreeland that develops K-12 educators as innovators through human-centered design methodology. The organization delivers a year-long Fellowship program where teacher and principal teams design school improvement blueprints, supplemented by Summer Design Programs, facilitated Studios, and a national Coach Network. Its proprietary methodology combines human-centered design, social entrepreneurship, asset-based development, and improvement science, codified into an open-sourced Toolkit (100+ actions), Student-Centered Design Canvas, and Impact Constraint Map that are freely distributed. The organization operates a Community Micro-Investment Fund through which participating educators fund each other's work, creating a self-reinforcing national network of 2,000+ educators across 108 schools reaching 150,000+ students annually.

Name

TrueSchool Studio

Legal name

TrueSchool Studio

Website

https://trueschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TrueSchool Studio is a New Orleans-based nonprofit that develops K-12 educators as innovators through human-centered design, operating a national Fellowship, Summer Design Programs, and a Coach Network serving 108 schools and 2,000+ educators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Professional Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

After-School Academic Support Programs (Centers & Clubs) (EDAJALAM)

Keywords

• Education professional development
• Educator fellowship programs
• School innovation coaching
• Human-centered design education
• Teacher leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Fellowship Program Revenue: Year-long Fellowship program for educators and school teams, likely funded through grants, contributions, and partnerships with education foundations.
2. Contributions and Grants: The organization relies on contributions from investors, sponsors, and grants to fund operations and expand the TrueSchool Fellowship. They reference coalition efforts with national, regional, and state funders.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TrueSchool Studio develops and invests in K-12 educators as the leaders of transformational schools through a year-long Fellowship program, facilitated Studio sessions, and Summer Design Programs. The organization provides human-centered design tools, coaching, and a national network of educators who collaborate on school improvement Blueprints aimed at improving student outcomes and equity in education.

Product overview

TrueSchool Studio is an education-focused organization offering a suite of programs and tools centered on human-centered design and educator empowerment. The core offerings include the TrueSchool Fellowship (year-long program), Summer Design Program (SDP), and TrueSchool Studios (facilitated learning experiences). These programs are supported by the TrueSchool Toolkit and design tools (Student-Centered Design Canvas, 10 Actions for Empathy + Insights, Impact Constraint Map). TrueSchool also operates a national Coach Network and offers a Community Micro-Investment Fund. The company is building a Systems Leadership Fellowship for district and state leaders. All offerings leverage human-centered design, social entrepreneurship, asset-based development, and improvement science methodologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TrueSchool Fellowship A year-long experience for teachers and principals focused on improving student learning through collaborative design thinking and school innovation. Participants engage in Studios, receive coaching from experienced educators, and develop school improvement Blueprints.
• Summer Design Program (SDP) A program enabling educator teams to create and implement innovations to transform student learning in classrooms or schools through a series of facilitated sessions. Delivered in partnership with organizations like Chicago Public Education Fund.
• TrueSchool Studios Facilitated, fast-paced professional learning experiences incorporating hands-on engagement, rapid prototyping, and collaboration within and across school teams. Conducted in-person in cities like New Orleans, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
• TrueSchool Coach Network A national network of experienced TrueSchool Coaches who have led deep change efforts in their own schools and support other educators through year-long coaching engagements.
• TrueSchool Blueprints Open-sourced, rigorous human-centered multi-year plans for dramatic improvement in achievement and equity, created by TrueSchool teams and shared broadly across the national network.
• TrueSchool Toolkit A curriculum leveraging human-centered design, social entrepreneurship, asset-based development, and improvement science, with over 100 actions for reimagining learning, piloting fresh ideas, and developing innovative education leaders.
• TrueSchool Community Micro-Investment Fund Small impact investments for schools participating in the TrueSchool Fellowship, where investment decisions are made entirely by educators and community members to support peer-led school innovation.
• TrueSchool Systems Leadership Fellowship A learning community for systems leaders at state and district levels seeking to develop capacity for systems-change and scale innovative education practices across schools.

Quantifiable outcome

• 64% of TrueSchool educators grew in collective efficacy; 23% grew by more than 10%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and major.

• Chicago Public Education FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Partnership with Chicago Public Education Fund to deliver the Summer Design Program (SDP) enabling educators to create and implement innovations in Chicago public schools. Teams from Chicago schools engage in TrueSchool-led sessions to design classroom or school innovations.
• 4.0 SchoolsnotableGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015Nominated TrueSchool for The Big Idea competition at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, helping raise visibility for the organization's work.
• Stanford UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership with Stanford University and ThinkImpact to research and design an action platform curriculum for the Unleesh app, including pathways for Stanford students and alumni focused on social entrepreneurship.
• ThinkImpactmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partner with ThinkImpact and Stanford University to launch innovation app with curriculum for social entrepreneurship education.
• Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2013Joined as NGLC design partner at the iNACOL conference. NGLC grant recipients receive $100-450k to design and launch innovative schools; TrueSchool serves as design partner supporting school innovation efforts.
• World Class SchoolsnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2013Partnership with World Class Schools' Research Triangle Educators' Design Network (EDeN) Fellowship. TrueSchool led a Studio with 7 EDeN Fellows in Raleigh-Durham, NC to design a new charter school model.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Learning Forward: National professional learning association focused on advancing educator professional development standards. Addresses the same K-12 PD market TrueSchool serves, with broader membership reach.
• TNTP: National non-profit focused on teacher recruitment, training, and instructional improvement. Competes with TrueSchool for district professional development budgets and educator pipeline funding.
• Relay Graduate School of Education: Graduate school and PD provider for K-12 teachers and school leaders. Targets the same educator-leader persona as TrueSchool's Fellowship with degree-bearing and certificate programs.

Direct peers

• Building Excellent Schools: Fellowship program that trains and supports founders of high-performing charter schools. Closely comparable to TrueSchool's school-leader fellowship model and design approach.
• 2Revolutions: Education innovation consultancy that designs and implements new school and district models. Comparable to TrueSchool's human-centered design and school redesign work.
• BetterLesson: Provides K-12 professional development, coaching, and curriculum supports to educators and schools. Closely comparable to TrueSchool's Fellowship and coaching model, with a larger commercial footprint.
• 4.0 Schools: Non-profit incubator and fellowship program for education innovators. Shared network with TrueSchool (4.0 nominated TrueSchool for the NOEW Big Idea) and comparable fellowship-based model.
• Education Elements: K-12 education innovation consulting firm that partners with districts and schools on personalized learning and design work. Overlaps with TrueSchool's Studio and Summer Design Program offerings.

Emerging players

• Digital Promise: Non-profit that works with schools, educators, and edtech companies to shape innovative learning. Overlaps with TrueSchool's innovation and impact measurement focus.

Regional players

• Aspen Institute Education & Society Program: Policy and leadership-focused education organization that convenes school system leaders. Comparable to TrueSchool's emerging Systems Leadership Fellowship for district and state leaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/beatrueschool
• Facebookfacebook.com/beatrueschool
• Instagraminstagram.com/beatrueschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trueschool-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 TrueSchool Studio