Progressive Education Model Reimagines High School to Prepare Students for the 21st Century
-Led by Union Square Ventures
-Capital used for new hires, developing the curriculum and program
-Sora pioneering a new high school educational paradigm
Sora is a much needed new approach to an education system that has been largely stagnant for decades,” said Rebecca Kaden, managing partner, Union Square Ventures. “It offers a personalized system with a scalable network, creating an opportunity to become the largest high school in the world.
Sora, a live, virtual high school designed to engage students with dynamic, personalized and synchronous learning, today announced it has closed a $2.7 million seed funding round, led by Union Square Ventures. Sora will use the capital to hire additional faculty and staff to augment marketing and business development efforts. Funds will also be used to further develop Sora’s educational program.
“Sora is a much needed new approach to an education system that has been largely stagnant for decades,” said Rebecca Kaden, managing partner, Union Square Ventures. “It offers a personalized system with a scalable network, creating an opportunity to become the largest high school in the world while also allowing each student to pursue his or her own passions and individual learning journey. Education shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all and Sora is creating something adaptable and effective at a time when parents and students are realizing that alternative forms of learning are needed and possible.”
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As the pioneer in a new virtual high school education paradigm, Sora has drawn considerable interest from top-tier investors. Aside from Union Square Ventures, other investors include Village Global, ReThink Education, Firebolt Ventures, Peak State Ventures (Sarah K. Lee), Contrary Capital and angel investor Taylor Greene. This round of funding will be used to build out Sora’s employee base with software engineers for learning management system (LMS) development, a director for its work-study program, a director of growth marketing and an asynchronous curriculum designer. The capital will also be used to develop Sora’s Work+Study program, which fits real-world work and internship opportunities into the curriculum, eventually aimed at making Sora free to attend.
“With Sora, education is finally evolving to meet the needs and high expectations of a new generation of learners,” said Anne Dwane, co-founder and partner, Village Global. “Sora’s unique approach lets the students’ interests guide their learning, ultimately providing a deeper, more enriching high school educational experience.”
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Sora tackles a number of deficiencies in today’s secondary schools — one-size-fits-all curriculum, minimal student ownership in their learning path and an unreasonable reliance on parents to supplement learning. Its highly scalable, student-driven approach underpins a new educational model — one that offers personalized, multimodal and synchronous curriculum. Encouraged to explore their interests and future careers with like-minded students in the Sora community, graduates not only exceed traditional academic standards, they’re also well-prepared to succeed in higher education and, ultimately, their future careers.
“Sora’s growth is a testament to the increasing dissatisfaction with traditional schools,” said Garrett Smiley, co-founder, Sora. “Now that kids are learning from home, many parents are discovering just how inefficient and antiquated most schools are. With its mission to create the best high school in the world, Sora puts a different spin on education so that it meets the needs of today’s high-schoolers and prepares them for life after school.”
For more information about Sora, please visit our website, http://www.soraschools.com.
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