The Learning Accelerator Receives a $750,000 Grant to Support Blended Learning

The Learning Accelerator, a new nonprofit organization supporting the implementation of blended learning in school districts, announced that it has received a $750,000 operating grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“This early stage funding ensures the effective launch of The Learning Accelerator and the implementation of all aspects of our program over the coming year,” said Scott Ellis, CEO of The Learning Accelerator. “We appreciate the Gates Foundation’s support for our mission to make it possible for every student in the nation to benefit from blended learning: learning at their own pace and with personalized content.”
Part Investor, part architect, The Learning Accelerator will address the challenges faced by school districts that are exploring blended learning and by providers that are beginning to offer the required components. These efforts are currently fragmented, slow, expensive, and risky.
The Learning Accelerator will work in three critical areas:

1. Funding: Strategically fund existing and new organizations to increase the effectiveness of implementation and enable districts to get better services with less risk and lower cost.
2. Alignment: Work with companies, nonprofits, and other service providers to accelerate innovation, increase standardization, reduce redundancy, and improve system-level performance.
3.  Facilitation: Share information with districts to increase their understanding of blended learning and make them more effective buyers of products and services.

The Learning Accelerator plans to mobilize $100 million over the next five years to accelerate the implementation of blended learning. “We have a specific job to do and we will ensure that our impact is sustainable for the long term,” said board member Gisele Huff. “Once the ecosystem has been strengthened, the implementation of blended learning has been accelerated, and a robust district proof points have been established, The Learning Accelerator will have achieved its objectives.”
Scott Ellis is also the co-author of a Digital Learning Now! Smart Series paper on “How to Implement Blended Learning” scheduled to be released February 6, 2013.