Education—The Sexy Profession!?

Ten years of investment are paying off in a human capital shift and ecosystems of edu-entrepreneurship.  We’re seeing top grads at the Ivies and professional schools considering a career in education. 

Here’s five change forces:

1. Teach for America is approaching 20 years old.  The 6000 corps members are impacting 400,000 kids.  Even more substantial is the impact of the 14,000 alum—they’re running schools, non-profits, foundations, and edu-biz

2. Broad Foundation has developed non-traditional superintendents and cabinet members as well helping districts improve their HR systems.   Almost every urban district that I visit has a superintendent that went thru Broad or a Broad resident on the management team. 

3. New money foundations funding edu-entrepreneurship have opened a new world of possibility: CMO’s, school support orgs, CBOs, and advocacy.

4. Education Pioneers recruits leaders from multiple disciplines to become Fellows in districts and CMOs. 

 5. Given the demise of investment banking and 10% unemployment, education looks like a great option.

6. Sterling Capital and Milken kept a small edu-venture space alive over the last ten years.  A handful of dot-com edu investors came and went.  Powerful application development platforms and enormous international education opportunities will increase investment by an order of magnitude in the coming decade.

The amount of talent and money that will flow into the edu sector in the coming years will be transformational. 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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