Educate has been helping teachers and schools transform learning through technology since 2000.
Founding partners Frank Hardart and Robert Flanigan didn’t set out to start a company—they just wanted to give students the best education they could get.
Frank worked at a kid-centered dot-com, Bob was an investment banker, and they both sat on an advisory board for inner-city Catholic schools. Aiming to uplift struggling schools, they noted that while classrooms were equipped with expensive technology, teachers weren’t equipped to use it.
Both men believed deeply in the power of technology to improve teaching, but it simply wasn’t happening. They dove in, taking a practical approach to gain insights about instructional technology by visiting classrooms and talking with teachers. Frank and Bob realized there was a broad need for instructional technology coaching. Most schools, they saw, were trying to incorporate technology in ways that were disconnected from the actual classroom—either relying on computer teachers or sending instructors to external professional development programs where they learned about the technology in a vacuum.
So they developed a coaching model based around teachers, not tools. They created Educate, hired a team of teachers turned coaches, and the rest is history. By providing regular, ongoing coaching sessions at the point of instruction and focusing on the schools’ needs instead of any single tech product, they helped teachers and schools make incredible improvements.
While the company has grown in size and influence, its mission is unchanged: to help teachers elevate learning by making the most of the technology they already have. Having coached at over 200 schools since its founding, Educate has seen firsthand what works best. Our experienced coaches continue to share and apply these best practices across learning communities, so every student can enjoy the education they deserve.
