CAMBRIDGE, MA — (Marketwired) — 10/21/13 — Panorama Education (), which helps K-12 schools improve through data analysis and feedback surveys of teachers, parents and students, announced today that it has raised $4M in seed funding. The round was co-led by Mark Zuckerberg-s Startup:Education and Jeff Clavier-s SoftTech VC, with additional participation from Google Ventures, Ashton Kutcher-s A-Grade Investments, Yale University, and others. This is Startup:Education-s first national equity investment.
Panorama provides the only survey and analytics platform specifically designed for K-12 schools. The company helps schools find data-driven solutions to their most pressing problems by collecting and analyzing feedback from teachers, parents, students and staff. Panorama-s technology platform is used in more than 4,000 schools serving more than one million students. Its clients include the Connecticut State Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Aspire Public Schools.
“Priscilla and I are excited to support Panorama Education and its mission. Their company is an exciting example of the way technology can help teachers, parents and students make their voices heard,” said Mark Zuckerberg.
Aaron Feuer co-founded Panorama while still an undergraduate at Yale based on his personal experience as a state student council member during his high school years. “Our schools weren-t using feedback from teachers, parents, and students effectively. There was a missed opportunity to understand everyone-s experiences and learn what was and wasn-t working. That data is extremely important when addressing issues such as parent involvement, bullying prevention, school safety, and student engagement. So when I was in high school in Los Angeles, we led a statewide campaign to use this feedback in education,” said Feuer. “We quickly realized that our school leaders wanted the feedback too, but they did not have an easy, affordable way to collect data, analyze the information, and take action. We decided to build that technology for public education.”
“We are using technology to address some of the most difficult problems in education,” said Feuer. “We are tremendously excited to have Mark Zuckerberg involved because of his passion for technology and education.”
Panorama differs from generic survey offerings in several important ways. First, with its focus on K-12 education, the company has developed widely used, research-backed survey questions that are specifically designed to help educators understand their schools. Panorama can also help schools design custom surveys. Second, Panorama-s consultants use best practices from across the U.S. to develop effective programs for each client, with expertise around addressing challenges such as engaging parents of all backgrounds. Third, Panorama goes beyond data collection, using its technology and experience to analyze results and provide recommendations on next steps.
According to Feuer, Panorama plans to use the proceeds from this seed round to launch a new free tool for individual teachers and to add new data analytics features to its platform. Panorama is also expanding its outreach efforts. “We aim to help every school use data to tackle the issues that matter most in their communities,” he said. “We-re excited to expand our work.”
Panorama Education helps schools improve through data analysis and feedback surveys of teachers, parents and students. Panorama-s technology platform helps teachers grow, and schools use Panorama-s tools to address issues such as parent involvement, bullying prevention, school safety and student engagement. Panorama is used in 4,000 schools serving more than one million students. Founded by three Yale undergraduates, Aaron Feuer, Xan Tanner, and David Carel, Panorama is backed by Y Combinator, Mark Zuckerberg-s Startup:Education, SoftTech VC, Google Ventures and others. Learn more at .
For information, contact:
Michelle G. Faulkner
Big Swing Communications
+1 617-510-6998
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