What Learning Heroes (US) does

Learning Heroes is a US nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by Bibb Hubbard and Cindi Williams, headquartered in Washington, DC. Its stated mission is to help parents understand their children's academic progress and strengthen family-school partnerships. The organization serves three primary audiences: parents (the end beneficiaries of its tools and research), school and district leaders (participants in the Family Engagement Leadership Institute), and a coalition of national education and family-serving organizations that co-publish and distribute its work.

The organization's core products include (1) the Go Beyond Grades public campaign, launched in 2023 with Gallup, which reframes parent perceptions of academic progress beyond report-card grades; (2) the Readiness Check, an interactive digital assessment and resource platform launched in 2018; and (3) the Family Engagement Leadership Institute (FELI), a cohort-based program for education leaders. Underlying these products is a research franchise built on recurring national surveys (Parents 2016, Parents 2018, ongoing annual cadence through 2022), the 2023 Engagement Advantage study co-produced with TNTP, and the 2023 B-flation report with Gallup. The Family Advisory Board, established in 2022, institutionalizes parent input into the content pipeline.

The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial. All parent-facing resources are offered free of charge, and Learning Heroes operates through fiscal sponsorship via the New Venture Fund. Revenue is therefore grant-driven rather than transaction-driven, and there is no disclosed pricing, subscription, or tuition revenue in the input. Distribution is achieved through an embedded partnership network rather than paid acquisition: named partners include National PTA, GreatSchools, UNIDOSUS, TNTP, Attendance Works, and Understood.org. Because the organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rather than a venture-backed company, growth signals are best read through program expansion, research cadence, and partner additions rather than funding rounds or ARR.

Name

Learning Heroes (US)

Legal name

Learning Heroes

Website

https://bealearninghero.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Learning Heroes is a US nonprofit founded in 2016 that helps parents understand their children's academic progress through research-based reports, free digital tools such as Readiness Check, the Family Engagement Leadership Institute, and partnerships with national education organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Family engagement resources
• Education research nonprofit
• Parent-teacher communication
• Student readiness assessment
• School-home partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic/Funder Support: Learning Heroes operates as a nonprofit organization supported by philanthropic funding. The organization conducts research and provides free resources to families, schools, and districts. The privacy policy notes they may receive donations and investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Learning Heroes is a nonprofit organization that provides free, research-based resources, interactive digital tools, and training to help families and educators strengthen school-home partnerships. Its core work centers on closing the 'perception gap' between what parents believe about their child's academic performance and actual grade-level proficiency as measured by NAEP. The organization delivers digital assessment tools, public awareness campaigns, annual national parent surveys, and a leadership institute for school and district leaders.

Product overview

Learning Heroes operates as a nonprofit education research and resource organization, not a traditional software platform. The organization's portfolio centers on family-school partnership research and tools, consisting of the Go Beyond Grades public awareness campaign (addressing the perception-reality gap in student achievement), the Readiness Check interactive digital assessment tool, the Family Engagement Leadership Institute (FELI) training/coaching program, and various supplementary resources including the Dear Teacher Letter, Parent-Teacher Planning Tool, and Learning Differences guides. These offerings work together to help families understand true academic progress and equip educators with family engagement strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Go Beyond Grades
• Readiness Check
• Family Engagement Leadership Institute (FELI)
• Dear Teacher Letter
• Family Engagement Resources
• Parent-Teacher Planning Tool
• Learning Differences for Families

Quantifiable outcome

• Schools with stronger family engagement pre-pandemic experienced smaller declines in chronic absenteeism, attendance, and achievement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GreatSchoolscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGreatSchools is listed as a partner organization that collaborates with Learning Heroes to provide families with information and resources to help children succeed in school and in life. GreatSchools amplifies Learning Heroes' content to its broad audience of parents.
• National PTAcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational PTA partners with Learning Heroes to provide resources that help families understand grade-level standards and support their children's academic success. The partnership enables Learning Heroes content to reach PTA's network of families nationwide.
• UNIDOSUScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUNIDOSUS collaborates with Learning Heroes to provide culturally relevant resources for Hispanic families. The partnership helps ensure Spanish-language content and resources reach Latino communities across the country.
• TNTPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project) partnered with Learning Heroes on the 'Family Engagement Impact Study' - a mixed-methods study examining the connection between family-school partnerships and student outcomes including chronic absenteeism and achievement.
• Attendance WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAttendance Works partners with Learning Heroes on research and advocacy regarding the impact of family engagement on reducing chronic absenteeism. Joint efforts include published research and resources for schools and families.
• Understood.orgminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnderstood.org partners with Learning Heroes to provide resources for families of children with learning and attention issues, helping parents understand grade-level expectations and access appropriate support.
• Summer Learning AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Summer Learning Association collaborates with Learning Heroes to provide resources preventing summer learning loss and supporting academic progress during the summer months.
• National Urban LeagueminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe National Urban League partners with Learning Heroes to provide resources and information to Black families about understanding grade-level standards and supporting children's academic achievement.
• UNCFminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUNCF (United Negro College Fund) partners with Learning Heroes to provide college preparation resources and academic support information to Black families and students.
• UnivisionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnivision partners with Learning Heroes to provide Spanish-language content and resources through Despierta America and other Univision programming, reaching Hispanic families with information about supporting children's education.
• WNETminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWNET (New York's public media station) collaborates with Learning Heroes to provide educational content and resources through Parenting Minutes and other programming, including the Readiness Check tool.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Understood.org: Nonprofit supporting families of children with learning and attention issues. Closely overlaps with Learning Heroes' Learning Differences resources and broader family-engagement offering, and is an active distribution partner.
• Attendance Works: National nonprofit addressing chronic absenteeism through family-school engagement. Co-researches and co-publishes with Learning Heroes (e.g., Engagement Advantage study) and serves overlapping districts and policy audiences.
• GreatSchools: National nonprofit providing K-12 school information and parent resources. Directly comparable to Learning Heroes in mission and target audience (parents seeking K-12 decision support), with overlapping partner ecosystems and shared perception-gap framing.
• National PTA: Largest parent-led child advocacy organization in the US. Operates in the same family-school engagement space as Learning Heroes and amplifies its resources to a national PTA member network.
• Parent Possible: Nonprofit focused on parent engagement in early childhood and K-12 education across Colorado and nationally. Directly comparable mission, funder base, and parent-engagement framing to Learning Heroes.

Broad incumbents

• Common Sense Media: Large, well-funded nonprofit producing parent-facing reviews and educational content for children and families. Overlaps with Learning Heroes' parent-resource and digital-literacy remit but at much broader scope and scale.

Emerging players

• Family Engagement Lab: Ed-tech-adjacent nonprofit building research-based family engagement tools for districts. Targets the same schools/districts as Learning Heroes with a more product-driven, technology-enabled approach.
• Global Family Research Project: Research and policy organization spun out of Harvard Family Research Project, focused on family engagement in education. Targets overlapping funders, researchers, and policymakers as Learning Heroes.
• UNIDOSUS: Largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the US, with a strong Latino education program. Overlaps with Learning Heroes on bilingual Hispanic family engagement and is an active distribution partner.
• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): National education nonprofit focused on teacher and school-system effectiveness. Co-researched 'The Engagement Advantage' with Learning Heroes and shares the same district-level K-12 outcome orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bealearninghero
• Instagraminstagram.com/bealearninghero
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/learning-heroes-us-
• YouTubeyoutube.com/bealearninghero

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 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 Learning Heroes (US)