Collaborating for change can be a powerful force in driving innovation and progress, two important factors at the core of BenchK12’s mission. This is why we have forged strategic partnerships with a variety of companies since our inception who share our mission to solve educator shortages and ensure that we do a better job of retaining educators by valuing them meaningfully.

Working together towards a common goal, while leveraging and supporting the strengths of individuals or organizations, helps us all to achieve more timely and sustainable change that may not have been possible otherwise. Too often, especially, in the private sector going-it-alone is often seen as a requirement to keep your competitive edge.

However, at BenchK12, we can only be successful as a company if we are successful in transforming the future of work for the K12 educators we seek to serve and that mission takes a village.

We are, therefore, excited to highlight our partnerships in our “Collaborating for Change” Blog Series, with the goal to raise awareness about the work we are doing with some amazing partners in education and technology.

American Association for Employment in Education

Our first featured partner, the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE), is also one of our newest. BenchK12 joined forces with AAEE to sponsor their 2022-2023 Pipeline Mini-Grant Program. The program supports innovative projects aimed at addressing the K12 teacher pipeline and launched in November 2022. In February 2023, six awardees were selected — four school districts and two non-profit organizations:

School Districts

• DC Public Schools
• Frederick County Public Schools
• Kansas City Public Schools
• Round Rock ISD

Non-Profit Organizations

• Colorado Men of Color Collaborative
• Minnesota North College – Itasca Campus

The mini-grant program was open to school districts, and for the first time, non-profit organizations in the United States implementing or expanding initiatives focused on attracting and supporting more individuals into teaching careers. Each awardee received $300 to fund their submitted project along with a one-year AAEE membership valued at $220.

As the teacher shortage continues to disrupt learning nationwide, we knew this program was a worthwhile investment that aligned perfectly with BenchK12’s commitment to change the future of work for K12 educators. While times are increasingly challenging in the education sector, there are still many bright spots and working with AAEE allowed us to help shine a light on a few of them. 

These funds provide a much-needed morale, publicity, and focus to the work of the grantees. Lucy Sanchez, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Specialist and Lead Program Developer for Round Rock ISD’s project, stated “While gaining $300 more towards materials is greatly appreciated, that isn’t the true benefit of this mini grant. Getting the funds is the easiest part. The benefit of any grant is that it requires documentation and accountability. This grant, and attention we may get as a result, keeps us on track, determined, with no option to fail.”

The Pipeline Mini-Grant Program demonstrates the importance of investing in education and providing opportunities for new ideas to shine — even at smaller dollar amounts, educators appreciate the support and know how to make a dollar go a long way to drive impact. 

The projects supported by this partnership have the potential to make a real difference in the lives of students and educators, while increasing awareness about the importance of recruiting and supporting diverse, high-quality teachers, and ultimately strengthening our education system for future generations.

Do you want to join BenchK12 in leveraging the power of collaboration to ensure every classroom has a great teacher who feels supported and valued? You can start by investing as little as $100 in our community round live on WeFunder now!

What if technology could help solve teacher shortages? That’s what BenchK12’s Founder and President, Brooke Barrett, and Makaela Kingsley, Head of Strategic Partnerships for Dream.org and substitute teacher, discussed with Stephen Ladek on his eLearn Podcast. 

Take a listen at the link above or via YouTube. Don’t have a full 40 minutes?  Jump to a section that you want to learn more about: 

03:40 › Teacher Shortages, An American Silent Crisis—How Brooke and Makaela became aware of the depth of this crisis first-hand during the pandemic and how the situation could be solved by simply creating better systems.

09:50 ›  How BenchK12 Can Help—By allowing educators get credentials faster and why opening this critical bottleneck will change so much for so many

12:17 › Logistics and Nuances behind all of the different school systems across the US, and how Brooke and her team are able to present a solution that is compatible with them all.

17:00 › Makaela’s Experience Trying To Be Helpful—by becoming a substitute teacher for her kids’ school during the pandemic

20:26 › BenchK12′s current challenges, as a start up and the immediate next steps in its future (including a call to action for everyone to help)

We are confident that with the right technology, we can change the current course of the teacher shortage crisis nationwide. This is why our team at BenchK12, is building modern technology that leverages decades of experience in education and enterprise technology to be a part of the solution. 

Now YOU can join us by investing in our community round on Wefunder with as little as $100. Current early bird terms are closing fast, so please make your investment today. Our teachers and schools can’t wait. 

First things first, tell everyone a little bit about you. How would you define yourself personally and professionally? 
If someone has met me in the flesh, I’d hope a key takeaway that person would have is “Wow, that guy is passionate, investment-savvy, technologically-aware, and he authentically wants to solve big problems…particularly within Education.” As a full-time #GirlDad, I want to change the education environment my girls are learning in daily. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities that have put me in my current role, and also know  how much more work there is to do to bring effective teaching & learning practice into the modern era.   

Top three career highlights in education and tech: 

1. Helped lead a strategic focus within Amazon Web Services’ EdTech vertical that is scaling ground-breaking technologies across the worldwide EdTech sector while improving the lives of students, teachers, and parents. 
2. Helped invest millions of philanthropic dollars with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation around data-driven education practices while starting several organizations and initiatives specific to addressing awareness for better “data interoperability” practice in Education Technology.
3. Brought a major product line to market which is now used by more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

What has your career taught you about what makes a successful enterprise tech company serving the K12 market?
Relationships + Talented/Empathetic Leadership + Execution + Patient Capital = Successful EdTech company 

What are the trends that you’re watching in K12 this year?
Generative Artificial Intelligence (e.g. ChatGPT)

How did you get involved with BenchK12?
Brooke and I have known each other for years and worked together in different capacities at various organizations. I have been a big fan of her ability to “Think Big” as an educator and also seen her ability to execute with precision and quality as a consultant and educational leader. She asked me to join as an advisor on technology and sales strategy. 

Why did you decide to not only invest in BenchK12, but serve as our lead investor? 
When I saw the shocking data of what is happening with teacher and substitute shortages nationwide and how easily current technology could remedy this for the current, and arguably more importantly, next generation, the foundation of what BenchK12 is building is a no brainer. When I see the equation I laid out above coming to fruition, I not only want to invest my time, but also my own capital.

When you look ahead ten years, where do you see BenchK12 headed as a company?
The numbers don’t lie. The data is real. The total addressable market for what BenchK12 is offering to the market is incredible. Contingent the State Education Agencies involved complete their pilots and roll to production (which is moving forward rapidly!), the scope of where BenchK12 could go is quite remarkable. I can’t fathom how impactful the company will be in 10 years but I do see success to be highly probable.