Over the summer, 4.0 Schools opened applications for the Tiny Fellowship program, the smarter path to launching your idea for a school, educational programs, and edtech tools.
The non-profit incubator for education-focused ventures received more than 220 submissions, interviewed 50 teams, and then selected 27 to join them as they test examples examples of the future of school.
“For now, know that they’re working on a diversity of topics but have two key things in common: excellent teams and bold visions about the future of school,” shared Austin Crouse, who leads the program. ‘We’re grateful and humbled by their work, and we’re so glad to be a part of their journey.”
Meet the Tiny Fellowship ventures below:
- Science with Tom: Every kid can be a rockstar in science class.
- Coded Academy: A fully integrated Computer Science school.
- One Square Mile: Project-based learning in a box, for a better world.
- Age of Makers: Scholars grow independently via technology quests.
- MindRight: Help at-risk youth recover from trauma via text.
- Sustainable Futures Public Charter School: A competency-based and project based school serving youth ages 14–21 designed to reengage disconnected youth and those who have struggled in traditional school settings by providing them with a comprehensive, challenging, personalized education that prepares them to lead sustainable lives.
- The Experience School: Experiential learning for 5th–8th grade ELL students.
- TILT: Equips education managers to lead responsively.
- Teen Bytes: Provides middle and high school students with the opportunity to explore computer science as a future career.
- Floop: Digital feedback on paper assignments.
- Cow Tipping Press: Changing the way we think about disability.
- Future Public School: Future-focused school for underserved Boise youth.
- DREAMSKC: A whole child, hyper individualized new school model.
- Wildhood: Integrates children with society and nature, using place-based outdoor and community learning. By strategically dematerializing school, Wildhood creates enhanced micro-school learning ecosystems, beginning in the early years of childhood.
- Mobile Idea Lab: Supports teachers to strengthen mindsets.
- Culture Chest: An online retailer of diverse children’s books and toys. Every month, we deliver carefully-curated books and activities for children ages 3–8. Consumers can either opt into our subscription model to receive products on a monthly basis or purchase our boxes a la carte. In addition, we highlight diverse authors through our blog and facilitate positive conversations around race with our YouTube channel.
- Eat Your Words Learning Tools: Provides early childhood centers, parents, and students with tools and resources to assist in the development of early literacy skills through food.
- TrainingGrounds Inc: Provides evidence-informed educational programming focused on age-appropriate developmental practices. We assist parents, caregivers and professionals, in communities throughout the Greater New Orleans Area, with understanding the importance of how rich learning experiences and positive child-adult interactions in the first few years of life, informs later success and overall child well-being.
- Upstanding: Online diversity & inclusion professional development.
- SOW: #YouthPoweredCreativeAgencySlaysOpportunityGap
- Mixer: Creates diverse family teams to support school integration.
- Project Basta: Bridges the college-to-career gap for first-gen grads.
- Brydge4Schools: Bridging the gap between parents and teachers.
- Rethink School of Education: A student-led tiny school of education.
- Heartwood Academy: A K-12 independent micro school for self-directed learners that focuses on intentional culture creation.
- BridgeYear: Immersive career exploration and advising for community college success.
- 01: A maker-centered learning lab.