ZAYA LEARNING LABS: (Formerly known as "Teach A Class")

Our mission is to provide world-class learning in every neighborhood - worldwide. Zaya provides world-class supplemental education to children ages 6 to 13 years old with our afterschool learning “Labs”. Each Zaya Learning Lab is powered by our personalized blended learning approach with the specific goal of bridging the achievement gap for primary education. We have designed our blended learning model to work anywhere in the world, with any income group, but our primarily focus is on the bottom of the pyramid. We are currently powering 20 learning labs inside schools and orphanages India, Indonesia and Mongolia and our focus for 2013 is to expand our operations in Mumbai.

We identify high-impact educational resources (videos, interactive textbooks, exercises) and deliver them to our learning labs along with a robust teacher-training curriculum. Our adaptive learning platform provides personalized learning to children based on their proficiency of the concept, but also localizes the content based on the curriculum and region. We also enable students to learn in a variety of formats and environments and then adopt the environment in which they perform best. Current content partners include: Khan Academy, Ck12, Discovery Education, Pearson's, BookBox, Mango Reader and local content makers in each region. At the core of the Zaya experience is our blended learning approach.

Problem

THE NEED: The majority of schools in India emphasize rote-based learning which studies have found significantly limit students’ conceptual understanding, reading and writing abilities. This also impacts the ability to retain students in the education system. Additionally, children are pushed through each year of schooling, even if they do not meet the skill and knowledge level required to proceed further in the schooling system. This has created a need for a strong remedial system such that no child is left behind, not just on paper, but also in terms of actual learning. Cutting edge interactive educational tools such as Khan Academy and CK-12 that utilize learning methods such as self paced learning exist, but these are currently only available online, limiting access by low resource and income schools. Additionally, these platforms need to be adapted to suit local communities, such as through the use of lessons in local languages and cultural practices integral to local curricula. A lot of attention has been given to providing technology to underprivileged children, through the donation of computers (the One Laptop Per Child program) and the Akash Tablets, but the question of how these tools can be used effectively in a low technology infrastructure has not been addressed.

Solution

At the core of the Zaya experience is our blended learning approach. With this approach we seek to bridge the achievement gap for primary education. Here is how we do it: 1) ONE-TO-MANY (LEARNING CONCEPTS) 2) ONE-TO-ONE (SELF-PACED PERSONALIZED LEARNING) 3) PEER-TO-PEER (MIXED AGE CLASSES) 4) OUR TECHNOLOGY & SCALE: In order to mitigate the expanding connectivity gap and to maintain a consistent classroom experience, we have developed our own “education WI-FI hotspots”. We call these our “Zaya Clouds”, a proprietary hardware and software solution that powers all of our classrooms. Each Zaya Cloud has a 10-hour power supply and is pre-loaded with the same high-impact educational resources, teacher-training curriculum, and our adaptive learning platform. This approach allows students to access the content and for teachers to track their progress even if there is no Internet access or electrical power. The units are small enough to fit in a backpack, making it easy for teachers to carry them home at the end of the day. When teachers are able to connect to the Internet, the ZayaCloud will automatically synchronize with our main servers, downloading new content and uploading student and teacher usage data. Our ZayaClouds and our platform will make it possible for us to scale both our after school programs AND with students who can access and use our platform from home if they do have an internet connection.

Example

BUSINESS MODEL (HUB & SPOKE + MICRO FRANCHISE) The basic business model of an afterschool program is simple, parents pay Teachers to teach their children. At the retail level, this is exactly how it should continue to be. However, in order to deliver a consistent program and to maintain a high level of quality control, it is important to create an organization and community level execution model that can scale. We also believe that the best business model is one that empowers and rewards people in the community and benefits the community as a whole. This is why we are combining a “Hub” and “Spoke” model with a micro franchise model. HUBS: We will enter each new community by opening a centrally located Zaya “Hub”. Each Hub will be staffed by Zaya employees and will be approximately 2,000sqft. The Hub will be split into two parts with 1,000 sqft serving as our recruitment and training center for new Teachers and the other 1,000 sqft hosting a fully functional learning Lab for 50-100 students. The learning Lab will also be used to provide hands on training for new teachers and to test and roll out new programs throughout the network. The Hub will also serve as our community center and central gathering place for the Teachers where they can share knowledge and experiences. SPOKES: Each ZayaLab (ie. “Spoke”) will be a micro-business owned and operated by the Teachers that operate them. After a Teacher has made it through our screening process, we will train them on how to implement our blended learning model, how to be a great facilitator and how to use the technology. They will then spend one week working as an assistant teacher in the learning Lab in their local Hub, and then they will be paired with two Teachers that are already running Labs in their area where they will be an assistant teacher for two weeks in each of their Labs. In all, each new Teacher will receive a total of 5 weeks of hands on training and evaluation before they can run their own Lab. CONTENT & ADAPTIVE LEARNING PLATFORM: We identify high-impact educational resources (videos, interactive textbooks, exercises) and deliver them to our learning labs along with a robust teacher-training curriculum. Our adaptive learning platform provides personalized learning to children based on their proficiency of the concept, but also localizes the content based on the curriculum and region. We also enable students to learn in a variety of formats and environments and then adopt the environment in which they perform best. Current content partners include: Khan Academy, Ck12, Discovery Education, Pearson's, BookBox, Mango Reader and local content makers in each region. SCALE: Creating an army of successful educational entrepreneurs (primarily women Teachers) is just as critical to our model as delivering a world-class education to our students. We will empower each Teacher to own and operate their Labs as a small business and we want them to love what they do and the impact they are having on their students and their communities. We will do this through our culture and by providing them with access to training and guidance on everything from marketing and recruiting to specific entrepreneurship content. We also need to ensure a sustainable income to our Teachers. Our target-pricing model provides them with an annual income equivalent to 1.5X to 3X the local minimum wage.

Marketplace

SCALE & SUSTAINABILITY We believe that our hub & spoke franchising approach is best expansion model for rapidly growing supplemental afterschool education. Trying to own and operate thousands of small afterschool centers is logistically very difficult, time consuming and very capital intensive. Instead, we want to focus on creating a world class “box”, the best brand, the best learning experience (in class and online), the best empowerment messaging, the best culture, the best training system, and the best quality controls. When we enter a new market, we will hire and train well–known teachers from the area to run the Hub in that area. This will help us to build brand recognition with local Teachers, with parents, with prospective students and with the local media. We will then work with them to recruit other established (but informal) afterschool programs in the area. By joining Zaya, they will become part of our network, which will give them blended learning, training, personal empowerment, a community and an identity in what is typically an unorganized sector. We will also provide them with the potential for career advancement, as our Teachers will be at the core of our trainers-training-trainers approach. It should be noted that our adaptive learning platform is being built for students in our classrooms who will access it via the ZayaCloud, but it is also available for anyone to use via the web - so we can leverage our platform and content even more.