Open Way Learning
Open Way Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that co-designs Project-Based Learning, Design Thinking, STEM, and strategic-planning programs with K-12 schools and districts across the United States, serving 300+ schools since its 2018 founding.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBrasstown, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Open Way Learning does
Open Way Learning (OWL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education organization founded in 2018 and headquartered in Murphy/Brasstown, North Carolina, that delivers consulting and co-design services to K-12 schools and districts seeking to implement learner-centered, Project-Based Learning (PBL) cultures. The organization operates four integrated service lines—Powerful PBL, Design Thinking, Making STEM Work, and Strategic Planning—built on a proprietary Human-Centered Design framework that emphasizes co-creation with educators, students, and community stakeholders rather than top-down program delivery. Core methodologies include the Portrait of a Graduate co-design framework, facilitated Design Sprints grounded in student and community empathy, and the High Quality Project-Based Learning (HQPBL) approach.
The organization is led by an Executive Director (Michelle Taylor), a Director of Program Impact (Wes Davis), a Director of Program (Ben Pendarvis), and a Finance and Operations Director (Laura Gaines), with co-founders Adam Haigler and Ben Owens serving as Co-Founder Emeriti. OWL serves public school districts, individual schools, and alternative schools primarily in the United States, with documented partnerships in North Carolina, New Mexico, Hawaii, Connecticut, Colorado, Washington, and South Carolina. The organization has served 300+ schools, supported 1,000+ teachers, and impacted 30,000+ students since founding.
OWL's revenue model is grant- and donation-based as a nonprofit (Tax ID 83-3760449), with primary funding from regional foundations including the Dogwood Health Trust Collaboration & Innovation grant supporting the Western North Carolina Resilience Project. Go-to-market is sales-led via direct engagement with districts, cohort-based application processes, on-site design workshops, multi-year strategic planning partnerships, and referral networks through partners such as Big Picture Learning, School Foundry, NCCAT, and SparkNC. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and services are not sold as discrete products but as multi-touch consulting engagements.
Open Way Learning firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Open Way Learning
- Legal name
- Open Way Learning
- Website
- https://openwaylearning.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Open Way Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that co-designs Project-Based Learning, Design Thinking, STEM, and strategic-planning programs with K-12 schools and districts across the United States, serving 300+ schools since its 2018 founding.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Open Way Learning industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Education Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Adaptive Learning & Personalized Instruction Software (EDAJAMAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12) (EDAGAJAI), OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)
Keywords
Where Open Way Learning is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brasstown
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Open Way Learning business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: Primary funding from grants including Dogwood Health Trust Collaboration & Innovation (C&I) grants for WNC Resilience Project and other regional education initiatives.
- Donations: Accepts tax-deductible donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with Tax ID: 83-3760449.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Open Way Learning product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Open Way Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers co-design consulting and professional development services to K-12 schools and districts across the United States. Its core offering is organized into four integrated service pillars — Powerful PBL (Project-Based Learning), Design Thinking, Making STEM Work, and Strategic Planning — all anchored in a Human-Centered Design framework that enables educators and students to co-create learner-centered innovations and shift school culture.
Product overview
Open Way Learning (OWL) is an educational nonprofit organization that provides consulting and co-design services to schools and districts. Rather than a software product company, OWL offers four integrated service areas that schools engage with: Powerful PBL (Project-Based Learning), Design Thinking, Making STEM Work, and Strategic Planning. These services work together as part of OWL's Human-Centered Design framework approach to help schools transform their culture and implement learner-centered educational practices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Powerful PBL Project-Based Learning service for K-12 schools and districts that helps educators build the cultural conditions for High Quality Project-Based Learning (HQPBL) to thrive, cultivating in-demand skills for students while allowing them to have real impacts on their own communities.
- Design Thinking Human-Centered Design service for schools and districts that facilitates Design Sprints grounded in student and community empathy to define local problems, ideate and prioritize potential solutions, and use agile tools to prototype, test, and refine ideas.
- Making STEM Work STEM education service for educators and schools that designs inviting spaces where creativity, tinkering, and failure are essential components integrated into all curricular areas.
- Strategic Planning Strategic planning service for districts and schools that co-designs living missions, visions, and strategies through an intensive co-design process with deep stakeholder input, including Portrait of a Graduate, Common Instructional Frameworks, and ESSER fund expenditure planning.
Quantifiable outcome
- Graduation rate improvement from high teens to 83% at Methow Valley Independent Learning Center
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Open Way Learning
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Open Way Learning technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Open Way Learning partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, regular and minor.
- School FoundrycoreCo-launched 'Together We Learn' initiative with Open Way Learning in North Carolina, aiming to help alternative schools adopt similar pedagogical approaches through design sprints, coaching, and peer networks.
- Big Picture LearningcoreSupported the Methow Valley Independent Learning Center in Washington to redesign away from packet-based credit accumulation toward student-centered, real-world learning, resulting in graduation rate improvement from high teens to 83%.
- SparkNCmajorCollaborating with schools to co-design initiatives that integrate community service into the curriculum following Hurricane Helene, creating engaging, relevant lesson plans focused on real-world challenges.
- North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT)regularPartner in holding routine maker culture workshops where teachers learn to use technologies in exciting ways that increase engagement in their classrooms.
- National Geographic ExplorersminorActive educational partnership with National Geographic Explorers as part of Michelle Taylor's work with The Science House of NCSU.
- Fielding InternationalminorSenior Learning Designer Nathan Strenge serves on OWL's Board of Directors.
- Caldwell Community College & Technical InstituteregularPartnership with CCS teachers and faculty to create Profession-Based Learning (ProBL) projects where students help solve authentic problems in local workplaces.
- StrongleadregularNationally-known local leadership organization coordinating with Caldwell County Schools on leadership development and student projects.
- Open Source Pedagogy & Research InstituteminorFounder Aria Chernik serves on OWL's Board of Directors; associated with Duke University.
- Local Environmental ExpertsminorCollaborating with local environmental experts for the WNC Resilience Project to develop open-source educational materials and prototype lessons.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Open Way Learning competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- BetterLesson: Teacher professional development provider offering coaching and virtual PD to schools and districts; partially overlaps with OWL's PD workshop and coaching offerings but operates at larger scale and via a more technology-mediated delivery model.
- Envision Learning Partners: Education consultancy supporting school redesign around deeper learning and student agency; comparable in mission and consulting model, though more concentrated on California and the West Coast than OWL's footprint.
Direct peers
- New Tech Network: National nonprofit that partners with schools and districts to implement project-based learning and school redesign, comparable to OWL's whole-school transformation engagements and their underlying HQPBL methodology.
- PBLWorks (Buck Institute for Education): The leading US nonprofit dedicated exclusively to Project-Based Learning; directly comparable because PBLWorks sells teacher PD, coaching, and school transformation services — the same core offering as OWL's 'Powerful PBL' and Design Sprint engagements.
- Reinventing Schools Coalition (RISC): Alaska-based nonprofit partnering with districts to redesign schools around student-centered, standards-based approaches; directly comparable to OWL's district transformation and instructional framework engagements.
- Transcend Education: Nonprofit that partners with schools and CMOs on learner-centered redesign and innovative school models; directly comparable as a school transformation consulting organization focused on innovative school cultures, similar in scale and methodology.
- EL Education: K-12 school improvement nonprofit providing curriculum, PD, and school coaching centered on project-based, real-world learning; highly comparable given shared focus on culture shift, Portrait of a Graduate-style frameworks, and district-level partnerships.
- Big Picture Learning: National nonprofit network pioneering interest-driven, project-based learning and alternative high school redesign; directly comparable to OWL's alternative-school segment, where Big Picture is also an active partner (e.g., Methow Valley).
- School Foundry: Nonprofit focused on launching and supporting innovative, learner-centered schools; co-launched 'Together We Learn' with OWL and directly comparable on alternative-school transformation methodology.
Broad incumbents
- Jobs for the Future: Large national nonprofit pursuing economic and educational equity via workforce pathways; broader than OWL but overlaps where K-12 transformation intersects with college/career readiness, and a likely source of competition for grant dollars in the same funding pools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Open Way Learning social profiles
Digital presenceOpen Way Learning financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Open Way Learning leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Open Way Learning funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Open Way Learning M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Open Way Learning
What does Open Way Learning do?
Open Way Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers co-design consulting and professional development services to K-12 schools and districts across the United States. Its core offering is organized into four integrated service pillars — Powerful PBL (Project-Based Learning), Design Thinking, Making STEM Work, and Strategic Planning — all anchored in a Human-Centered Design framework that enables educators and students to co-create learner-centered innovations and shift school culture.
Is Open Way Learning a public or private company?
Open Way Learning is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Open Way Learning founded?
Open Way Learning was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Open Way Learning based?
Open Way Learning is headquartered in Brasstown, United States, in the North America region.
How does Open Way Learning make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Open Way Learning's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are BetterLesson and Envision Learning Partners. Direct peers are New Tech Network, PBLWorks (Buck Institute for Education), Reinventing Schools Coalition (RISC), Transcend Education, EL Education, Big Picture Learning and School Foundry. Jobs for the Future is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Open Way Learning have an API?
No public API is recorded for Open Way Learning.
What industry is Open Way Learning in?
Open Way Learning's product category is K-12 Education Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJAMAE, Adaptive Learning & Personalized Instruction Software, with a secondary code of EDAGAJAI, Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.