Expanding access to high-quality, joyful learning for children everywhere

Outschool.org is the independent nonprofit partner of Outschool. Our vision is that anyone who wants to access virtual and out-of-school learning to achieve their goals can, whether you are a learner, parent/guardian, or community-based organization. Those without economic privilege should have the same freedom to explore, experiment, and choose as those who do.

  • We put families first. To date, Outschool.org has invested $4M in financial assistance and served over 34,000 families. Cumulatively, children in these families have logged 170,000 hours learning on Outschool. We currently serve more than 11,000 learners, the majority of whom are low-income.

  • We partner with the best. We work closely with local partners and pilot place-based programs that can later be scaled in other locations. Our partner network includes homeschooling co-ops, non-profit organizations, schools and school districts across the country, with representation in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

  • We deliver results. Through high-dosage tutoring, some learners in our programs have seen test score gains of more than 10 points with just 10 weeks of instruction.

OUR TEAM

Executive Director

  • Justin Dent is the founding Executive Director of Outschool.org. Justin was previously the Founder and Executive Director of Ethos, a nonprofit that provided career education to 18,000 low-income, first generation, or minority students annually. An active voice in the dialogue around education equity, Justin's writing has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and he's appeared on Fox Business, CNBC and Cheddar.

Head of Program

  • Morgan joined Outschool.org in 2020. As Head of Programs, she holds our vision of programmatic excellence in service of under-represented students, families, and communities.

    Prior to this role, Morgan served as the Chief Academic Officer for a network of over 400 schools centered on global education and dual-language immersion. She has held leadership positions within several urban school districts, focusing her efforts on human capital, strategic planning, digital learning, and school transformation. Morgan started her career as a high school science teacher in Franklin County, North Carolina.

    She holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D) from Harvard University and a B.A. from Duke University (Yes, that means she painted herself blue from head-to-toe, lived in a tent for 12 weeks with her 10 closest friends in the dead of winter, and loved every minute sitting Center Court for the Duke v. UNC games. Go Blue Devils!).

Head of Operations & Finance

  • Alex joined Outschool.org in 2022. As Head of Operations, she oversees all employee engagement, culture, systems, strategic planning and financial health.

    Prior to this role, Alex served as a Co-Owner and Chief Operations and Finance Officer for a social impact agency supporting nonprofit development, strategy and digital impact. Partnerships with incredible organizations like The Southern Poverty Law Center, Humane Society of the United States and Facing History and Ourselves were highlights during that tenure. Alex has always been passionate about amplifying impact by developing new systems and designing scalable technology solutions.

    Alex is also the founder of a disruptive start up, Lovely, which is reimagining therapy for couples, by reducing barriers, minimizing cost and meeting the evolving needs of consumers in a dysfunctional system of mental health services.

    Alex holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Oregon. Alex is obsessed with the people in her life, especially her husband and two kiddos. She enjoys a balance of pragmatic planning and responsibilities with a sincere commitment to hedonism including but not limited to great food, delicious wine, pool parties in the summer and sunshine beach vacations in the winter.

Head of Development

  • Stacey joined Outschool.org in 2022. As Head of Development, she oversees all fundraising and communications activities for Outschool.org.

    Prior to this role, Stacey served as Managing Director of External Relations at a national education nonprofit focused on leveraging technology to enhance student outcomes through family engagement and teacher professional development. She has also launched a charter management organization and grown it from one standalone school to eight schools and taught fourth grade in Phoenix, AZ.

    Stacey holds a Masters in Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, and Public Policy from New York University and a B.A. from Ithaca College in journalism. She enjoys being outside running, skiing, and tracking her three kids down at the playground.

Director of Learning

  • JS started working with Outschool.org in 2021. As Director of Learning, they work with teachers and our community partners to co-design identity-affirming, learner-centered programs through a liberatory lens.

    Before Outschool.org, JS began working at the intersection of K-12 competency-based education and learning management platforms at educational technology and children’s media companies. JS also designed the yearlong arts-based, social-emotional learning curriculum for Eye to Eye’s mentorship program to support their mission of improving educational experiences of neurodiverse young people.

    JS has a background in Sociology and Education and has taught middle school Humanities with over ten years of classroom experience. JS is a lifelong learner with professional development studies at the National Equity Project, The Reading and Writing project at Teacher’s College at Columbia University, summer institutes at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, the program of Advanced Education Leadership at HGSE and Mindful Schools.

Director of Product & Program

  • Kris Comeforo is the Director of Product and Program at Outschool.org, working to ensure our partners have access to high-quality experiences across the educational landscape.

    He spent his career working to ensure all students can achieve excellent and equitable education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Washington, DC Public Schools. As a teacher, he was recognized as a Teacher of the Year and a recipient of the Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Teaching. As a school leader, he led his campus to unprecedented academic achievement while also making tremendous progress in closing achievement gaps across all subgroups of students.

    He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of Arts in Teaching from American University, and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Boston College. He enjoys tennis, running, and playing the drums.

Director of Marketing & Communications

  • Laura joined Outschool.org in December 2021, and is responsible for communicating organizational impact, increasing brand awareness, and creating content for Outschool.org’s community of funders, learners, and supporters.

    Laura has a decade of experience in digital marketing. Prior to joining Outschool.org, Laura held marketing roles at online learning platform, Coursera, and global technology consulting firm, Accenture, launching programs, campaigns, and products to over 5 million users in 150 countries.

    Laura holds a Master’s in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in Communication from University of Pennsylvania. Laura grew up in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and currently lives in San Francisco.

Director of Digital Operations

  • Zach collaborates cross-functionally to champion the strategic planning of Outschool.org’s initiatives and streamline day-to-day processes to maximize the impact of the work while nurturing the team’s well-being.

    Following 4+ years working in public schools, Zach gravitated towards non-traditional approaches to supporting the future success of young people that filled gaps in what public schools could offer. In 8+ years with the New York Public Library, he led the launch of large-scale program initiatives that served kids across NYC in developing the skills and positive identities needed to thrive today and tomorrow.

    As a lifelong learner with too many interests, you might find Zach out of work hiking with his kids, making digital music, cooking a new dish, or motorcycling.

    Zach’s home base is Brooklyn, New York.

FAQs

WHO RUNS OUTSCHOOL.ORG?

Outschool.org is managed as a separate charitable initiative through the Edward Charles Foundation (ECF). Our organization receives funding from a variety of philanthropic institutions, individuals, and companies — including Outschool.com. Outschool.org’s relationship with ECF allows us to ensure that we are in compliance with all 501(c)3 standards and financial oversight independent of Outschool.com. Outschool.org’s Executive Director is Justin Dent.

WHY DOES YOUR PAGE TAKE ME OFF OF YOUR WEBSITE WHEN I CLICK ON THE “DONATE” BUTTON?  

Outschool.org is managed as a separate charitable initiative through the Edward Charles Foundation (ECF). Therefore, all donations are processed through ECF. Your donation through Every.org is tax-exempt and the full amount will come directly to Outschool.org to support our programs.

If you are a registered user on Outschool, there is also an option to donate at Outschool.com’s checkout page when you are paying for classes for your child/children.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUTSCHOOL.COM AND OUTSCHOOL.ORG?

Outschool.com is the marketplace in which parents can find over 140,000 live online classes for their children aged 3-18. There are over 10,000 independent teachers who teach a range of topics, from core academic subjects like math and world history to enrichment activities including forensic science, baking, astronomy, meditation and more. 

Outschool.org is the nonprofit formed in March 2020 to address financial barriers to virtual learning during COVID-19. Our organization now addresses heightened interest and need for out-of-school learning in under-resourced communities, including but not limited to Outschool classes. We intentionally design our programs with community partners to meet the needs of their learners. For example, since the majority of learners we serve are learners of color, we select educators who demonstrate a strong ability to create a culturally relevant and identity-affirming learning environment – 80% share the same racial background as their learners. 

BESIDES OUTSCHOOL CLASSES, WHAT OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU PROVIDE?

In addition to providing Outschool classes to increase access to enrichment, Outschool.org also provides high-dosage tutoring in English Language Arts, mathematics, and English language learning; as well as Outbridge, a suite of services with a community-based platform that enables families to personalize learning for their children.

Outschool.org’s team of experienced educators incorporates high-quality partners and instructional materials into our programs, including Reconstruction, CommonLit, IXL, Zearn, Readworks, Newsela, and Freckle.

WHAT DOES OUTSCHOOL.ORG DO WITH DONATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY?

Outschool.org is committed to serving marginalized learners who have historically faced limited access to out-of-school learning opportunities. 100% of the donations from the community will be utilized to keep Outschool.org’s programs, grant-making, research, and operations running, enabling us to further broaden access to both enrichment and academic learning for learners in need.

We accomplish this through partnering with exceptional community-based organizations across the United States and working with state departments of education to support families to optimize their Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and microgrants in order to meet individual learners’ goals.

The financial support that Outschool.org receives from individuals and foundations plays a crucial role in enabling Outschool.org to foster partnerships across the United States and enable Outschool.org programming to narrow achievement gaps and enable learners to pursue their interests.