Forbes: The 2024 30 Under 30 Education Entrepreneurs Are Bringing Digital Solutions To All Of Education, From Music To Mental Health To Special Ed

Read the original article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicasager/2023/11/28/the-2024-30-under-30-education-entrepreneurs-are-bringing-digital-solutions-to-all-of-education-from-music-to-mental-health-to-special-ed/?sh=24f2a0829b5f

Meet the 2023 class of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Education entrepreneurs, who were selected by a panel of expert judges out of a pool of thousands.

By Monica Sager, Emma Whitford and Katherine Love

Education is still overcome with challenges born from the Covid-19 pandemic. Students today need, on average, the equivalent of more than four months of additional instruction to meet pre-pandemic levels of achievement, and there is an ever-growing concern among parents and educators about worsening student mental health. While students have since returned to in-person learning, the founders on Forbes’ annual 30 Under 30 Education list have embraced digital solutions to tackle these challenges and others.

For 13 years, Forbes has highlighted some of the most promising and ambitious young entrepreneurs and changemakers in education for its annual list, which starts with thousands of nominations from the public. To be considered for this year’s list, all candidates had to be under the age of 30 as of Dec. 31, 2023. Candidates for this year’s list were evaluated by a panel of expert judges who had been in their shoes before, including Dan Carroll, a 2014 list alum and the cofounder of digital-learning platform Clever; Katelyn Donnelly, a 2014 list alumna and founder of the early-stage technology investment firm Avalanche VC; and Andrew Grauer, a 2013 list alum and cofounder of the education businesses platform Learneo and the popular tutoring site Course Hero.

Judges recognized the impact that Sri Naraynan, 24, has had with Kodely, a startup working to address the learning disruptions by ensuring students in over 45 school districts have access to problem-solving and tech-literacy workshops after school and during academic breaks. Ceri Riley, 29, is reaching students through social media via YouTube videos, digital games and podcasts. Riley co-hosts the podcast SciShow Tangents, which aims to inspire curiosity and improve scientific literacy. Riley joins science educators Hank Green and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up each other with weird and funny scientific research tidbits, like ideas around hygiene, how batteries work and the perception of colors.

Diana Heldfond’s Parallel Learning aims to ensure that virtual learning doesn’t leave anyone behind. Heldfond, 28, recognized the importance of supporting students with different learning abilities. There are roughly seven million students with special needs in the United States who qualify for specifically tailored accommodations, and those arrangements often don’t carry into virtual learning, leaving students to fend for themselves. With Parallel Learning, students are able to receive special education support with virtual services, assessments, counseling and instruction.

Even though most schools have returned to in-person instruction following the Covid-19 pandemic, education settings need to adapt to reach students where they are. Intertwined, a financial literacy software founded by 19-year-olds Kerry Ao and Naina Muvva, helps students interact with curriculum, uses AI to adapt the platform and engage students at where they are at in their virtual learning.

During the Covid-19 pandemic and the isolation of remote and virtual learning, more students than ever struggle with mental health challenges, with 44% saying in a 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey that they were experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. And the return to school hasn’t turned things around. That's where 28-year-old Tessa Zimmerman’s Upstream Education comes in; it trains and equips educators with mindfulness and positive psychology tools that can be easily integrated throughout the school day.

This year’s list was edited by Monica Sager, Emma Whitford and Katherine Love. To check out our complete 2024 Education list, click here, and for full 30 Under 30 coverage, click here.