Education

Matt Miquelon, Sohit Wadhwa, Anupama Vaid, and Bill Frenzel, ParentSquare

ParentSquare notches growth investment, fueled by KC startup acquisition, pandemic trends

By Tommy Felts / August 5, 2021

A significant growth investment is expected to help push edtech platform ParentSquare’s expansion into new markets and products — nearly 18 months after the Santa Barbara company announced the acquisition of a Kansas City startup’s school communication app. The undisclosed investment by Serent Capital also follows ParentSquare’s successful navigation of pandemic-era communication needs between parents…

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Girls in ‘tough-boy’ jobs: Young welders torch outdated beads on what’s possible

By Tommy Felts / June 15, 2021

Vanessa Bello and Adriana Figueroa feel a rush of adrenaline as they gear up in their welding uniforms and watch their blueprints come to life — it’s a feeling everyone deserves to experience, regardless of gender, they shared.  “It’s all dark but you see this little light while welding; then when you take off your…

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Gabby Lickteig, Indian Hills Middle School

Generation Changemakers: 5 ‘Next Great Idea’ pitches funded at Shawnee Mission contest

By Tommy Felts / May 4, 2021

Editor’s note: Startland is the parent organization of Startland News, though this report was produced independently by Startland News’ non-profit newsroom. Click here to read more about Startland’s education and real-world learning work. [divide] Gabby Lickteig didn’t initially think of herself as an entrepreneur, she said, though the seventh grader knew she had the potential…

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Nolan McMichael, Brad Starnes, and Joe Allen, Splitsy

Splitsy takes top prize in Regnier challenge, adding to emerging fintech startup’s spring bump

By Tommy Felts / May 4, 2021

The Regnier Venture Creation Challenge doled out more than $65,000 in cash prizes to emerging startups this spring, culminating in Friday’s big win for an up-and-coming fintech app.  “We had a great competition,” Bryan Boots, managing director of venture creation and assistant teaching professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, told Startland News.  The annual…

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KC Girls Preparatory Academy

Liberation through innovation: Why KC Girls Prep focuses on history, culture to empower students 

By Tommy Felts / April 13, 2021

Striving to create feminist, anti-racist leaders does not come with a checklist, said Tara Haskins — rather it takes creative thinking and the willingness to go beyond established norms.   [pullquote] KC Girls Preparatory Academy currently teaches students in fifth and sixth grade. The school is now enrolling seventh grade students for the 2021-2022 school year…

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