Here’s a feel-good funding for you: Ellevation Education, a startup on a mission to improve outcomes for English Language Learners (ELLs), raised $10 million in funding today.
Led by Reach Capital with participation from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network and existing investors, the Series B round will help finance product development focused on improving teacher instruction.
“Administrators and teachers are working hard to meet the instructional needs of our nation’s fastest growing population of students,” said Jordan Meranus, CEO and co-founder of Ellevation, in a statement. “We are privileged to support the critical work they do and greatly appreciate the support from mission-aligned investors that care deeply about English Language Learners.”
Founded in 2006, Ellevation provides ELL administrative and data management tools for teachers, saving school districts time and giving hours back to instructors so they can maximize their impact in the classroom.
The need for ELL instructors has never been so dire, as ELLs are the fastest growing population of K-12 students in the United States. To put that into perspective, about one in 10 students across the country is currently learning to speak English; in California, that number is one in four students.
In the past year, nearly 100,000 educators in over 600 school districts — from Fairbanks, Alaska to Miami, Florida — used Ellevation’s platform. The startup estimates that instructors using Ellevation have collectively taught over 1 million ELLs.
Ellevation also created an instructional advisory board in 2017 composed of experts, including language acquisition researchers and instructors, to help guide the startup as it builds out its product.
Based in Boston, Ellevation currently employs about 100 people across its three offices in Massachusetts, California and Texas. Locally, the company is hiring for more than 12 roles in engineering, sales, marketing and product development.
