our impact to date
Our mission is to unlock the potential of technology to transform learning and advance achievement for low-income students across New York City. Our partners create free and open-source resources so all students can develop the knowledge and skills they need to be strong learners.
“Blending technology into curriculum and classroom practice has the potential to help teachers and students get the support they need, enhancing both teaching and learning in NYC.”
–John Overdeck, Co-Chairman of Two Sigma and Co-Chair of the Fund Advisory Board
who we are
Robin Hood, Overdeck Family Foundation, and Siegel Family Endowment established the Learning + Technology Fund to shift teaching and learning so all students are prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
The five-year fund is an initiative of visionary leaders, including:
John Overdeck, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder, Two Sigma Investments
David Siegel, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder, Two Sigma Investments
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Founder, SV2 Stanford Center on Philanthropy
Michael Horn, Chief Strategy Officer, Entangled Solutions
Dan Huttenlocher, Dean, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing
David Saltzman, Senior Advisor, Two Sigma Investments and Founder, Robin Hood
Eric Schmidt, Technical Advisor and Former Executive Chairman, Alphabet, Inc.
who we work with
“Collaboration is the cornerstone of effective philanthropy, and a key to making grants that will help children become successful learners.”
–David Siegel, Co-Chairman of Two Sigma and Co-Chair of the Fund Advisory Board
Find out if you’re eligible and learn more about the commitment and grantmaking process.
big bet #1:
blended literacy
IMPROVING THE WAY STUDENTS LEARN TO READ AND WRITE WITH TECHNOLOGY.
Why?
Literacy is one of the biggest indicators of later success for all students. It is particularly critical to improving the lives of children living in poverty.
Students living in poverty who read proficiently in 3rd grade are 13 times more likely to graduate high school on time.
How?
We work with curriculum and teacher-training organizations to better integrate technology into K-8 classrooms so teachers have tools and resources to improve student reading and writing.
big bet #2:
computational thinking
UNCOVERING NEW WAYS TO PREPARE CHILDREN TO BECOME COMPUTATIONAL THINKERS.
Why?
The ability to find solutions to problems using all the tools available including computers – that is, to think computationally – is critical to developing strong and creative learners who are prepared for success in our increasingly digitally-driven world.
How?
Our goal is to create a pipeline of teachers who are equipped to teach students how to think, solve, and create with computers in order to learn any subject better.
We focus on elementary grades because starting this kind of learning at a younger age helps students build strong foundations, and be more open to experimenting with computers as they get older.
our blended literacy community partners
our computational thinking community partners
CPRE
our team
Our team is led by:
Amber Oliver, Managing Director
Nirvani Budhram, Senior Program Officer, Blended Literacy
Steven Azeka, Program Officer, Computational Thinking
Our team is supported by:
Emary Aronson, Chief Knowledge Officer & Senior Advisor to the CEO, Robin Hood
Eric Mulkowsky, Managing Director, Program Strategy and Operations, Robin Hood
Anu Malipatil, Vice President, Education, Overdeck Family Foundation
Katy Knight, Executive Director, Siegel Family Endowment
Thea Charles, Head of Knowledge and Impact, Siegel Family Endowment
In Partnership With
