UWM Center for 21st Century Studies

What UWM Center for 21st Century Studies does

Skills21 is a project-based learning platform operating as a program of EdAdvance, a Connecticut-based regional educational service center. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Litchfield, CT, Skills21 delivers personalized K-12 learning programs including PIP (Personal Interest Project) for student-driven projects, Capstone for Mastery Based Diploma Assessment graduation requirements, JOY-SEL for grades 5-9 social-emotional learning, and The Social Balance curriculum for digital citizenship. The organization also runs Skills21 XR, an extended-reality program supporting AR/VR app integration, VR hardware procurement, and Digital Twin development for schools. Over 20 years of program delivery has positioned Skills21 as a nationally known leader in digital learning, recognized by the US Department of Education as an exemplary model for STEM achievement.

The platform integrates AI through Sidekick AI, a secure conversational tool on the Skills21 Launchpad platform that guides student projects and promotes AI literacy, alongside a comprehensive categorized AI Prompts Library for educators. Skills21 also operates the ChatEDU podcast (named #1 AI and Education podcast by Forbes in 2025, with 110+ episodes, 95,000+ all-time plays, and 3,000+ followers) and offers professional development services including AI Training, AI micro-credentials, and the 'AI-Powered Hospitality Leader' course developed in partnership with Southern Connecticut State University's Office of Workforce and Lifelong Learning.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: subscription or grant-funded district and school program delivery (some backed by NSF grants), self-paced professional development courses priced at $199-$249 per registrant, and ChatEDU podcast sponsorship tiers priced at $75-$210 per episode. Customer segments include K-12 schools and districts (primary), K-12 and higher education leaders, educators and teachers, and an emerging hospitality industry vertical. The go-to-market is sales-led, leveraging direct school/district partnerships, the ChatEDU podcast, social media, events and conferences, and downloadable AI resources.

Name

UWM Center for 21st Century Studies

Legal name

Skills21

Website

https://skills21.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skills21 is a Connecticut-based K-12 project-based learning program under EdAdvance that delivers personalized curricula (PIP, Capstone, JOY-SEL), the Sidekick AI tool, Skills21 XR immersive learning, the Forbes #1-ranked ChatEDU podcast, and AI professional development for educators and hospitality leaders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Educational Software

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

AI-Powered Tutoring & Study Assistant Platforms (EDANAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Note-Taking, Reading & Comprehension Strategies (EDANADAC), Writing & Assignment Support (Essays, Reports, Research Skills) (EDANADAD), Skills Assessment & Talent/Employability Testing Platforms (EDAFADAM)

Keywords

• Project-based learning
• K-12 education
• AI literacy training
• Social emotional learning
• Extended reality learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Danbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Development Courses: Self-paced professional courses like 'The AI-Powered Hospitality Leader' offered at $199-$249 per registrant, developed in partnership with Southern Connecticut State University.
2. Podcast Sponsorship: ChatEDU podcast sponsorship tiers including Pre-Roll ($150), Mid-Roll ($210), Post-Roll ($115) per episode, and Check-In sponsorship at $75 with 4-concurrent-pod minimum.
3. School/District Programs: Skills21 programs offered to K-12 schools and districts, with funding from NSF grants and research studies supporting program delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Skills21 delivers a portfolio of personalized project-based learning platforms (PIP, Capstone, JOY-SEL, Skills21 XR, Sidekick AI, The Social Balance) for K-12 students, complemented by AI literacy training, professional development, and micro-credentials for educators and education leaders. Offerings are sold to schools, districts, and higher education institutions, with select open-enrollment courses available to individual professionals.

Product overview

Skills21 is a project-based learning platform offering a portfolio of personalized educational programs designed for K-12 students. The core offerings include PIP (Personal Interest Project) for student-driven projects, Capstone for graduation requirement fulfillment, JOY-SEL for social emotional learning, and The Social Balance for digital citizenship. The platform integrates AI through Sidekick AI for student guidance and AI literacy promotion, and extends into immersive learning via Skills21 XR (extended reality/VR). Skills21 also provides professional development services including AI Training, micro-credentials, and the ChatEDU podcast for education leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PIP - Interest Project: Middle and high school students create an exceptional project in an area of interest during the school year, summer, or out-of-school time.
• Capstone
• JOY - SEL
• Skills21 XR
• Sidekick AI
• The Social Balance
• ChatEDU

Products and services

• PIP - Interest Project
• Capstone
• JOY - SEL
• Sidekick AI
• Skills21 XR
• The Social Balance
• AI Training
• AI Micro-credential
• AI-Powered Hospitality Leader Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Over a decade of research demonstrates Skills21 programs increase academic achievement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Southern Connecticut State University Office of Workforce and Lifelong Learning (OWLL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills21 partnered with SCSU's OWLL to develop 'The AI-Powered Hospitality Leader' course. The partnership combines Skills21's AI expertise with SCSU's academic credentials to deliver professional education to hospitality leaders.
• ChatEDU Podcast SupportersminorOthersChatEDU podcast receives support from EdTech companies including zspace, Next Gen MFG, Kiddom, Edia.app, and EduAide.ai. These organizations support the podcast which promotes AI in education.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• MagicSchool AI: MagicSchool AI is an AI-powered platform built for K-12 educators that provides lesson planning, differentiation, assessment generation, and AI literacy tools. It is directly comparable to Skills21's Sidekick AI and prompt library in targeting teacher workflows around generative AI.
• Eduaide.ai: Eduaide.ai is a free AI-powered resource generator for educators covering lesson planning, assessment, IEPs, and communication. It directly overlaps with Skills21's prompt library and AI training offerings for teachers and is named as a ChatEDU podcast supporter, signaling ecosystem overlap.
• zspace: zspace provides AR/VR learning experiences and hardware for K-12 and CTE. It is directly comparable to the Skills21 XR offering and is also a ChatEDU podcast sponsor, indicating explicit collaboration with Skills21 in the immersive learning category.
• Kiddom: Kiddom is a K-12 digital learning platform combining curriculum, instruction, and assessment with a standards-based gradebook. It is a close peer to Skills21's integrated school platform and is a named ChatEDU podcast sponsor, suggesting direct ecosystem ties.
• Newsela: Newsela delivers leveled nonfiction content and instructional tools for K-12 literacy, writing, and SEL. It overlaps with Skills21's Social Balance curriculum and content-driven student engagement programs in the middle and high school grades.
• CommonLit (Quill): CommonLit and its Quill product provide free, research-backed literacy and writing instruction for grades 3-12. They are comparable to Skills21's writing and project-based curricula, particularly around assignment support and reading comprehension strategies.

Broad incumbents

• Khan Academy (Khanmigo): Khan Academy's Khanmigo is an AI-powered tutor and teaching assistant deployed across K-12 and higher education. As a much larger incumbent with broader content coverage, it competes with Skills21 in the AI tutoring and literacy space but serves a wider academic curriculum.
• Carnegie Learning: Carnegie Learning provides adaptive math and literacy solutions, including MATHia, used across K-12. It is a broader incumbent competitor to Skills21 in digital and project-based learning at scale, though it does not focus specifically on AI literacy or project-based learning platforms.
• Canva for Education: Canva for Education offers design, presentation, and lesson-building tools used widely by K-12 and higher-ed teachers. It competes indirectly with Skills21's project-based learning platforms by enabling student creators and educator content design at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Edia: Edia is an emerging K-12 educational content and practice platform. It is named as a ChatEDU podcast supporter, indicating that it sits in the same AI-in-education ecosystem and competes in adjacent instructional support categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ecskills21
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXPj_gDITA093rob5TAGKAQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ecskills21
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-center-for-21st-century-skills-educationconnection
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecskills

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 UWM Center for 21st Century Studies