# CoLab Education

> CoLab is collaboration infrastructure for K-12 education. Schools, districts, state and regional teams, associations and PD providers use CoLab to keep professional learning going between sessions, connect educators across schools, and see where their priorities are taking hold. Free for individual educators. Paid for organizations. Built to make meaningful collaboration in education accessible to everyone, so no educator has to work alone.

## The problem CoLab solves

Districts and networks invest in serious priorities: new curriculum, literacy and numeracy, AI, support for new educators, leadership pipelines. The training day goes well. What happens next has never had a system behind it.

Educators leave professional learning ready to try something new, then work it out on their own. The questions in week three, the lesson that needs adapting, and the colleague across the district who already solved it are scattered across group chats, shared drives and inboxes. What works in one classroom rarely reaches the next, and leaders can't easily see what's taking hold.

CoLab gives that work a home.

## What CoLab does

- **Keeps professional learning going.** Every PLC, cohort, learning team or rollout gets a shared Space, so the work continues between sessions instead of waiting for the next PD day.
- **Connects educators across schools.** Educators find colleagues who teach what they teach, in their district and beyond, and get support when they need it.
- **Turns individual work into shared knowledge.** Resources, adaptations and answers build into a library the whole organization can draw on, and it gets stronger every year.
- **Shows leaders what's working.** Custom insights reports show where collaboration is happening and where teams may need more support.
- **Works alongside the tools you already use.** CoLab is the professional collaboration layer next to your LMS, drive and email.
- **Comes with a team.** CoLab's team and advisors have given their careers to education. We help design, launch and support each community with you.

## An example

A grade 4 teacher tries a new small-group reading strategy from her PLC, and it doesn't land. She posts a quick note in her PLC's Space. Her literacy coach sees it that afternoon, alongside three other teachers working on the same strategy, shares an exemplar, and tags a colleague who solved the same problem last month. By Friday, the four teachers are comparing what worked and planning their next try. Nobody had to wait for the next PD day.

## Two layers, one platform

- **Open community (free for individual educators, forever):** educator portfolios, resource sharing, grade and subject Spaces, messaging, and free webinars and events.
- **Private organization communities (paid):** private Spaces for schools, districts, networks and programs, shaped around your priorities, with custom insights reports and support from our team to launch and grow them.

The open community means an organization's educators aren't starting from an empty room. They join a network that's already active.

## Who CoLab is for

- School districts and school boards
- State, provincial and regional agencies and networks (including county offices, ESAs and BOCES)
- Statewide, national and regional learning teams
- Associations and member networks
- PD providers, coaches and instructional materials providers
- Universities and teachers' colleges
- Individual K-12 educators

## Common uses

- Implementing new curriculum past launch day
- Supporting new educators with mentors and peers from day one, including grow-your-own pathways
- Growing the next generation of school and district leaders
- Moving AI from training to everyday practice
- Statewide, national and regional learning teams
- Keeping association members connected between conferences
- PD programs that continue after the session ends
- Connecting educators in small and rural schools with colleagues across their region

## Programs and events

Alongside the platform, CoLab and its partners offer:
- **Leader Roundtables:** small peer groups for leaders running the same work, hosted by experts in the field
- **Professional learning communities:** ready-to-launch, expert-facilitated cohorts, including AI Foundations, AI Leadership for Independent Schools, CTE Educators, and Indigenous Education in Canadian Schools (with Deschool)
- **CoBuild Days:** hands-on days where teams design solutions with AI
- **Webinars and the Inside the (Co)Lab podcast:** practical conversations with professional learning leaders
- **CoLab Ambassadors:** pre-service and early-career educators who lead CoLab communities on their campuses

## Trusted by educators and leaders

Educators and leaders from 100+ school districts and boards across the US and Canada use CoLab, from large urban districts to small and rural ones. They include:

- **United States:** Jordan School District, Canyons School District, Davis School District, Granite School District, Alpine School District and Weber School District (UT); Clark County School District (NV); Palm Beach County School District (FL); Prince George's County Public Schools and Baltimore County Public Schools (MD); Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN); Albuquerque Public Schools (NM); the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA); and smaller and rural districts such as Emery County and Grand County School Districts (UT), Toombs County Schools (GA), Alexander County Schools (NC), Gorham Schools (ME) and Jarrell ISD (TX).
- **Canada:** Toronto District School Board, York Region District School Board, Peel District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Halton District School Board, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Waterloo Region District School Board and the Calgary Board of Education; French-language boards including Conseil scolaire Viamonde and CSP du Grand Nord de l'Ontario; and smaller and rural boards such as Keewatin-Patricia, Bluewater and Renfrew County District School Boards (ON), Black Gold School Division (AB) and Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools (BC).

CoLab also works with universities, teachers' colleges, independent schools, associations and PD providers, including Utah State University, Teach Smarter, Deschool and the Science Teachers' Association of Ontario.

## Results from partners

- **Utah State University Collaboratory:** a statewide network of educator-led learning teams. 36 learning teams and 340+ educators from 35+ districts, charters and partners across Utah.
- **Teach Smarter AI Leadership PLC:** 40 educators and leaders from 6 leading independent schools across Canada learned together on CoLab. 91% had shared their learning with colleagues by the end.
- **Science Teachers' Association of Ontario (STAO):** educators from 90+ school boards, schools and organizations stay connected between conferences, and share resources in French and English.

## Funding

Organizations usually fund CoLab from budgets they already hold for professional learning, curriculum and educator retention. In the US, that often includes Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV-A and Perkins V. In Canada, it's usually board professional learning and curriculum budgets, and provincial priorities. CoLab offers free funding support, including alignment language and letters of support. See https://www.colab.education/funding

## Company

- **Founded:** 2023
- **Headquarters:** Toronto, Ontario, Canada (remote-first team)
- **Serves:** schools, districts, state teams and educational organizations across the US and Canada
- **Founders:** Ariella Racco (CEO), a former K-12 educator who taught in Ontario and Spain, and Kevin Birch (CTO), a three-time founder and former Director of Mobile Applications at Kobo
- **Category:** B2B SaaS, K-12 education, professional learning and collaboration

## Key pages

- Home: https://www.colab.education
- Product: https://www.colab.education/product
- Why CoLab: https://www.colab.education/why-colab
- Pricing: https://www.colab.education/pricing
- Funding CoLab: https://www.colab.education/funding
- Success stories: https://www.colab.education/success-stories
- Programs and events: https://www.colab.education/programs-and-events
- For educators: https://www.colab.education/educators
- Share CoLab and Ambassadors: https://www.colab.education/share-colab
- Careers: https://www.colab.education/careers
- Blog: https://www.colab.education/blog
- Request a demo: https://www.colab.education/request-demo
- App: https://app.colab.education

## Frequently asked questions

Q: What is CoLab?
A: Collaboration infrastructure for K-12 education. It gives educators a shared place to keep learning together between sessions, and gives leaders a view of where their priorities are taking hold.

Q: Who is CoLab for?
A: School districts and boards, state and regional networks, associations, PD providers, universities and teachers' colleges, and individual K-12 educators.

Q: Is CoLab free?
A: Yes, for individual educators, forever. Organizations pay for private communities, custom insights reports and support from our team.

Q: How is CoLab different from an LMS?
A: An LMS is built for teacher-to-student instruction. CoLab is built for educator-to-educator collaboration across schools and districts. The two work side by side.

Q: How is CoLab different from Facebook groups, group chats or shared drives?
A: Those tools weren't built for professional learning. Conversations get lost, resources scatter, and leaders can't see what's working. CoLab keeps the people, resources and conversations together in a professional space built for educators.

Q: Does CoLab work in Canada and the US?
A: Yes. CoLab works with schools, districts, boards, state teams and associations in both countries.

Q: How do organizations get started?
A: Request a demo at https://www.colab.education/request-demo, or email info@colab.education.

## Contact

- General: info@colab.education
- Support: support@colab.education
- Founder: ariella@colab.education

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/colab-education
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colab.ed