New School Portfolio

Kim Smith, New Schools Venture Fund

In five years, New Schools has given 10,000 kids access to new schools, says Smith. Public charter schools provide an alternative to government-run schools by giving the school much more flexibility while maintaining accountability. She believes this flexibility encourages innovation and increased performance. Other portfolio items include:

1) Teachscape – an online teacher-training program, which uses a video case method of instruction

2) Successforall – a non-profit literacy program spun out of John Hopkins

3) Carnegie Learning – a for-profit literacy program competitor.