Impact Science Education: Getting middle school students hooked on science and engineering

As an Oakland businessman, I am always looking for a good investment that also makes a contribution to society. It appeared in our discussions that Impact Science was providing a new science curriculum that would make the study of science more attractive to students. I am pleased to be an Impact Science investor, helping to educate more people in the sciences where the United States lags behind much of the developed world.

Robert Hamilton

Investor in Impact Science Education, Real Estate Broker in Oakland

I'm Chris, a good friend of Doug Hamilton. Best of luck!

Christopher Thomas

Father of two, husband, son, brother, filmmaker, global citizen.

Hi Ladie, Hi Robin, I'm soooooooo blown away by this incredible curriculum. Thank you for what you're doing for our kids and our world. --Lonnie

Lonnie Moseley

Investor Q&A

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What does your company do?

We're piloting our curriculum in 60+ California school districts, reaching 10,000 students. Our lessons move away from traditional textbook teaching to a hands-on model based on direct engagement, teamwork and problem solving. We believe all students should have a chance to do science and engineering, not just read about it or watch it on a screen. Our first paying school district loved our curriculum so much that they renewed for a 2-year contract after using it for only half a year.

Where will your company be in 5 years?

We aim to bring high-quality learning to all science classrooms every day, to unlock every student’s potential and curiosity, and help teachers prepare students for college and careers. Right now, only 1 in 3 eighth grade students tests proficient in science. Our goal is for all students to achieve or exceed proficiency with our hands-on science teaching approach. We've launched in California but plan to be in 18 more states by 2019 and an established curriculum option in all 50 states by 2022.

What does Impact Science Education do?

We are changing the way science is taught in middle schools. Science class should be engaging and exciting. Students should have a chance to do science and engineering, not just read about it. We want to re-awaken in students the natural curiosity that they were born with, by making science class more like science camp. Impact Science Education is a new kind of educational publishing company that puts the focus on teachers and students and the classroom learning experience. Large textbook companies are not serving the needs of our students and teachers. Apps and online courses are not entirely solving the problem either – students already get too much screen time. Our solution is to engage students in teamwork, problem-solving, tinkering, and inventing in order to maximize every student's learning potential. The way we do this is to provide complete instructions, or lesson plans, for teachers so they can create these kinds of learning experiences for students every day. We're focusing on middle school because for a lot of students, it’s the first time they have a science class with a science teacher. They are also developing their sense of self. By the time they get to high school and pick their classes, they're setting their course for their future. If we can empower and excite them about academics and their own ability to create and innovate, then they're more likely to take more challenging courses in high school and be more successful in life.

Can you take us back to the beginning? How did you get started?

When the new science standards were adopted by California and a consortium of other states, we recognized a paradigm shift in the way science would be taught across the country. We saw a great opportunity and new awareness about effective ways to teach science, but no available teaching tools that allowed teachers to teach in this new way. We could envision what was needed, but didn’t see anyone else creating it. Ladie Malek has an engineering degree and taught math and science at the middle school and high school level for 8 years, then spent 15 years in textbook publishing, developing textbooks and online courses for Pearson and a number of other publishers. Robin Cooper has 23 years in the classroom, teaching middle school science, and has mentored over a dozen new teachers. Together we started writing a new science program for Robin and other teachers at her school. The teachers at Robin’s school tried out these early units, and the response was overwhelmingly positive -- both teachers and students loved the hands-on, lab-based units and engineering design projects, and were asking for more. We pooled our savings and incorporated the company in September 2015. Ladie works on product development and runs the business full time as CEO. Robin still teaches full time, helps with lesson writing, tests the curriculum, and acts as our Chief Academic Officer.

How have you grown so far?

We wrote most of our 6th grade program ourselves, on our own time and our own dime. Since our first round of fundraising, we’ve been able to hire some teachers on a contract basis to develop lessons with us. We now have a full-time sales director and outreach coordinator who sign up school districts to pilot our curricula and gather our first round of customers. We are poised to finish writing all the lesson plans by December 2017. Next we will prepare to submit our material to the state of California for review and adoption. California is the largest state that has adopted the new standards, and we have teachers at over 60 school districts sampling the lessons we have available so far. Of the teachers who have finished using their free set of sample lessons, 94% report that they would “definitely use again or recommend to other teachers” so we are optimistic that we will start to convert some customers as we complete the product. Many states are waiting to see what happens in California, and other states have already moved in the same direction. Over 50% of US students now live in states that have adopted Next Generation Science Standards, and the number continues to grow.

Who are your customers?

Though they’re not technically our customers, the main beneficiaries of our product are students and teachers. Our end user is the classroom teacher in public and private middle schools. Students can learn effectively and be engaged, while their teachers can be supported with complete and well-written material. School districts buy our material to support their teachers and students, so we actually sell to district administrators and those are our customers. Our approach is to generate enthusiasm and interest at the teacher level, and work simultaneously with district administrators to communicate how this will benefit their science program, as they make the final decision and authorize the purchase. Teachers want to ensure good outcomes in the classroom and maximize their limited preparation time. Administrators want happy teachers, but they also want affordability and good test scores. We've found that starting the groundswell at the teacher level helps us in conversations with administrators.

How are Impact Science Education’s lessons different from the science education today’s adults experienced, or from the app- and software-based lessons popular today?

The textbook centered curricula we grew up with is now less effective. The information in a textbook can easily be searched on a tablet or phone. Plus, textbooks are quickly outdated, expensive to buy, and have all kinds of hidden on-site costs, like shipping, storage, distribution, tracking and replacement. Some companies have tried to develop software to make science more exciting, but students already get too much screen time. Plus, technology-based curricula are often expensive. Learning technology has its place, but most districts cannot afford one device per student every day, and software based products can create network conflicts, server glitches, and teacher frustration. What students really need are more chances to investigate, invent, tinker, experiment, engineer, and work together. That is what our program is built around. The product itself is a complete set of lesson plans for the entire school year, carefully designed and sequenced to cover all the science content that needs to be taught at that grade level. Each lesson plan spells out what teachers are going to teach that day, what they will need, how to set it up, what questions to ask, and so forth. We also have a strong engineering design component to our lessons. Ladie’s background in engineering makes it possible to show teachers how to give students opportunities to tinker, innovate and invent new solutions to problems. We deliver our lessons in PDF so they’re easily accessible to all teachers and all schools. They can be viewed on-screen or printed out. We don’t require teachers to learn new software or navigate a content management system. Not needing to build or maintain a content management system also keeps our costs low.

How much does your product cost?

Our pricing is simple. We charge on a per-student basis: $9 per student for a one-year license and $64 per student for an eight-year license. Districts generally purchase new curriculum materials every eight years. Our biggest expense right now is product development. However, once our programs for grades 6-7-8 are complete, this expense largely disappears. There will be some revisions as we expand to other states, but the profit margin is high. We also don’t have the delivery and warehousing costs that our competitors contend with. A typical California school district has 3,000 middle school students. If they purchased a one-year license at $9/student, that would bring in $27,000. If they bought an eight-year license at $64/student, that would bring in $192,000. Textbooks, for comparison, run about $100 per student. So we can keep costs low for schools while maintaining a high profit margin, with virtually no direct costs

Who are your competitors?

Amplify is our main competitor. They have a slick and pretty comprehensive curriculum that satisfies fans of educational technology. The science is good, and the curriculum is entertaining and contains a good reading component. However, they’re completely web-based and rely on each student having a computer or tablet every day in class. Their licenses are several times the cost of ours, and prohibitively expensive for most school districts. Upfront cost along with dependence on technology limits the accessibility of their product to wealthier districts. It also cuts down on collaboration in class, which is a key requirement for states like California. STEMscopes, based in Texas, is another competitor. They have some good daily lesson material, but many teachers we’ve spoken to feel that it’s not comprehensive enough and does not build strong conceptual understanding. TCI is well known in social studies and they’ve recently branched out into science. They provide kits for their units, which we do not, but they are behind in development and don’t seem to be comprehensive enough to be a serious threat. They are also still textbook based. Finally, there are the traditional educational publishing companies which are still focused on textbooks and textbook-style content. They’re resisting the move to an inquiry and lab-based curriculum. However, many teachers (and the new science standards) and are moving away from textbooks in the classroom except as reference books.

What differentiates Impact Science Education from its competitors?

Successful veteran teachers know what works in a real classroom with real students. Our development team, starting with our founders, consists of experienced successful science educators. We know that over half of all middle school science teachers in California are either new or teaching outside their content area, so having a program like ours can make an enormous difference in the level of science that they are able to teach. Having worked with both new and veteran teachers, including those who were not science majors, we know that the material must be logical and step-by-step. We provide teachers with background information, teacher guides and discussion prompts to facilitate their teaching and help them engage their students. It also helps to have a former engineer on our team — Ladie Malek — who can make sure we are teaching engineering design thinking alongside science, as the new science standards require. Our product is high quality and affordable. We are small, agile and extremely focused on our customers. This is in-depth, rigorous curriculum that doesn’t break the bank.

Why does your approach work well in science?

So much of science is about doing. Reading about science in a textbook, or even online, only gets you so far. You have to interact with it and have a chance to exercise your curiosity to learn. Traditionally, we've given the teacher the textbook and said, “Here's the information that you need to get into kids' heads.” Then their job is to figure out how to get it into kids' heads. The content of those textbooks is now easily accessible to anyone online. But the challenge is how to make it interesting, and how to create learning experiences so that kids can actually learn the material and understand why it's so cool and amazing. That's not trivial. We've always relied on teachers to do that. If we can give teachers lesson plans that focus on creating those experiences, that saves them a lot of time and maximizes their impact. Science is the most challenging subject to teach. Science teachers have to manage lab materials and lab safety, and they need content knowledge that is broad and deep. There is a critical shortage of science teachers, exacerbated by the requirement to invent new ways to teach science without the appropriate tools. Teachers have been thanking us for developing this product, because it helps them be effective, saves valuable planning time, and helps avoid burnout.

How do you determine whether your curriculum is improving educational outcomes?

There’s a subjective measure and an objective measure. The subjective is how satisfied the teachers are in covering the content, and how usable and approachable the material is for them. Do they find that they can use it easily? Does it result in student engagement and learning? Our teacher testimonials attest that we have been successful in this regard. We poll teachers who sample our lessons, and 94% so far have said they would “definitely” use the lessons again or recommend them to a colleague. Then from the objective side, California is piloting a new standardized test this year. The following year, it will be a relatively high-stakes test. That would be the objective measure. We are confident that schools using our program will see higher test scores.

How fast is the company growing?

As we raised money over the last 10 months, our staff has grown from our two founders to two full-time staffers and five part-time contractors. Ideally, in the next six months we would add five staff members — one more developer and one more assistant to help us polish the lessons and submit to the state of California for the science adoption in March. We would then like to add at least three staff members to help ramp up our sales and marketing team — and if we raise more we can build an even more robust sales and marketing team.

How do you acquire customers and how much does it cost?

We attend conferences, advertise in science educator magazines and newsletters, use personal connections, and make cold calls. We use pilots to get teachers involved and they advocate for us with their districts. We then approach administrators and discuss their needs and timetables. We also direct people to our website, where they can read about our philosophy and download a few sample lessons. We find this to be an effective way to pique their interest, and it requires no work from us. For the 2017 California Science Teachers Association Conference, our cost of lead acquisition was about $20 per lead. Our cost of acquisition per paying customer is hard to determine since we are at the early stages of the sales pipeline and are still finishing the product. However this cost should be considerably lower than traditional publishers who have much higher external costs like shipping, sampling, printing/manufacturing, and warehousing. The lifetime value of our customers is based on increments of eight years. A mid-sized district would have approximately 3,000 middle school students, so $192,000 per district per eight-year segment. In the short term, we are offering one-year licenses and may start to see some small sales as district complete their free trials. We project our main customers will be small and mid-sized districts, where the decision tree is easier to navigate. However, if we’re able to get some larger districts, we’ll leverage that to acquire others. We also offer an almost instantaneous transition to the new science and engineering standards, so we’re reaching out to districts as they all are searching for a quick and affordable solution.

How do you acquire customers?

Through conferences, connections and cold calls. We use pilots to get teachers involved and they advocate for us at the district level or on-site at their school. We then approach the administrator and discuss their needs and timetables.

How do you convince districts with limited budgets that your product is valuable?

School districts are chronically underfunded, but they do have money set aside for textbooks and instructional materials. Our product falls into this category. Districts protect these accounts until they see the material that best suits their needs and those of their teachers. Many districts have told us that they haven’t spent instructional materials money the past few years because they haven’t found anything suitable that meets the new standards. They’ve decided to wait until the state releases its list of adopted materials next year. In the meantime, teachers are saying, "Yes, but now I’m expected to teach science in this new way. How do I do that? Where is the program I’m supposed to use?" Administrators in California are hesitant to buy new textbooks now, in advance of next year’s adoption. So when they find out that they can get a one-year license or a two-year license from us and wait to make the eight-year decision until after the state adoption, they're interested. We have 60+ school districts trying our curriculum right now, and we’re starting to have those conversations with administrators, pushing them to get a one- or two-year license until they make that final decision.

How big is your market?

Our market is the entire US.. middle school science market, where over 50% of students reside in states that have adopted Next Generation Science Standards. Many other states, such as New York and Massachusetts, have adopted similar standards. We are starting with the West Coast as California is a trend setter and is about to have a science adoption in Spring 2018. There are over 2 million middle school students on the West coast. We are launching in California which has 1.7 million of the total. In California, there are 977 school districts and over 1,300 middles schools (see source here). Our plan is to establish a minimum of 5% market share which would be approximately 49 school districts or 55,000 students (averages out to approximately 1,122 students per district which is a great district size for us and potentially and easier sale). A conservative 5% of the west-coast market means $6.4 million in revenue (5% is on the low end for the products Ladie Malek has developed in the past). We also have identified 18 other states that have adopted the same science standards and those will be our next targets. There are 13 million middle school students nationwide which represent a potential revenue of $41.6 million at our minimum 5% market share projection.

What do you plan to do with the money you raise from Wefunder investors?

We need to finish developing our 6th through 8th grade curriculum and submit it to the state in March 2018. The first $50,000 will enable us to hire one more developer and one more assistant to polish the product over the next few months and make a successful submission to the state science adoption, which is a stringent process. We will apply the rest of the funds to increase sales and marketing staff by at least three people, build a stronger sales and marketing presence through more advertising and a bigger conference presence, and conduct more teacher trainings and seminars.

What’s your timeline for development?

Our big push right now is to put the finishing touches on our product and submit it to the state of California in Spring 2018 and get on that adoption list. If we succeed, that will be the best possible way to get our name out there and show that we have the state’s stamp of approval. That state-approved list will be formally issued in November 2018. Until then, we’re offering districts one-year licenses, since most are waiting to make big expenditures until after that list is published. Assuming we’re recommended by California’s adoption approval board, we expect to start making long-term sales at that time. We’ll also start developing curricula for markets in other states. We have identified 18 additional states that have adopted the same science standards as California, and those will be our next targets. There are a few lessons that relate to regional climate or regional geography, and we will modify those for different regions so that they're more relevant to students' lives.

How will you ensure adoption by California’s Board of Education?

California’s requirements are very stringent, but we're confident that we have the best team for the task. The state has set out a very clear pathway towards approval, and it's a very long list of requirements — there are five categories, with hundreds of requirements just in Category 1, every single one of which must be met. The state is going about it in a smart and transparent way. For the first time, we may be in a better position to make the California adopted list than any of the major textbook companies. At least one of the major publishers will not be submitting a program at all, and the other two still have traditional programs that might not pass muster. We have been studying the new standards since they were published in 2013, and we are being very thorough. It’s daunting, but as long as we're careful to check all the boxes, we have every confidence that we’ll be approved.

What’s been your biggest challenge so far?

The first is brand recognition. We’re small, but we’re starting to see some success, since we’ve been to two conferences and have more than 300 contacts. The second is raising money. We are small, so we need to keep our focus on product development and developing our customer base. Fundraising has been time-consuming drawing resources away from product development and sales.

What concerns do you have about the future?

If we don’t get the product done in time, we can’t submit for California State adoption. Even if we do finish on time, there is always an outside chance we may not be approved. Almost all our energy is focused on that right now.

Who’s on your team?

Ladie Malek, our CEO, is a civil engineer turned science teacher turned product developer turned business owner. She is smart, pragmatic, and level-headed, with a good sense of humor. She had the fortitude to start her own business and has faith in her product despite the presence of some giant fish in the pond. She has worked in educational publishing for 17 years and has a good sense of how to develop products that meet users' needs. Robin Cooper, our CAO, is a master science teacher, teacher mentor and curriculum writer. Her 20+ years in the classroom are invaluable for knowing what will work and what helps students learn in the classroom. Doug Hamilton, our Sales and Marketing Director, is a former high school social studies teacher with a minor in science. He was an energetic and passionate teacher who always brought history to life for students. He also has 12 years of experience in sales, and has trained and managed sales teams in the past. Alex Kushner is our editorial assistant and outreach coordinator. He has great organizational skills and pays attention to detail, responds to users in record time, and he’s eager to take on new assignments and help us grow. Linda McPheron, PhD is one of our product developers. She has taught college courses in everything from insect biology and ecology to climate change. She brings a wide-angle view of curriculum units and writes strong, cogent lesson plans. Mirka Marquez, product developer, is a former science teacher and has been working in educational publishing for several years. She has also traveled widely, and brings a great general knowledge of climate, geology, and everyday applications of science. Also an artist, she has a knack for writing lessons that are creative and hands-on. Barbara Gottfried, product developer, has written, edited, and published dozens of books in everything from mathematics to economics to teaching special needs students. She brings a depth and breadth of knowledge, particularly in using data in science. A dozen other star teachers from around the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond have collaborated with us on every aspect, from conceptual development and brainstorming to lesson writing and testing the curriculum

What is the expected return on my investment?

Publishing is a very lucrative industry, and large publishers bring in billions of dollars in revenue every year. We are a smaller publisher with a more targeted market, but even so we are forecasting modest income from one-year licenses in 2018, then $6.4 million in annual revenue once we start selling eight-year licenses in California in 2019. This assumes 5% market share of 2 million middle school age students on the West Coast, at $64/student for an eight-year license. We will grow from there as we gain more market share and also expand into other states. We have only common stock, and are offering SAFE notes which will convert to equity if there is a qualifying event -- including when we start making a profit and paying dividends on any common stock.

1	Piloting in 60+ California school districts and reaching approximately 10,000 students.
2	Raised $415,000 so far.
3	Our first paying customer, a mid-sized school district, renewed their Impact Science Education contract for an additional two years after using it for a partial year.
4	On track to be on the California State Approved curriculum list.

1	Textbook-based learning has been the mainstay of science education for the last 100 years. Administrators in certain districts may be hesitant to use a program that does not use a textbook, and some parents may want to see a textbook. However, we have spoken to dozens of school districts so far, and the majority have expressed a preference for a program that is NOT textbook-based.
2	The Securities have numerous transfer restrictions and will likely be highly illiquid, with no secondary market on which to sell them. The Securities are not equity interests, have no ownership rights, have no rights to the Company’s assets or profits and have no voting rights or ability to direct the Company or its actions.
3	If we are unable to raise all the capital necessary we will need to start out with a smaller sales force until we have enough revenue to hire a larger team. This will limit our revenue growth early on. This will directly impact the number and frequency of license sales.
4	Robin Cooper is part-time. As such, it is likely that the company will not make the same progress as it would if that were not the case.

Holder	Securities Held	Voting Power
Robin Cooper	34,500 Common Stock	29.5%
Ladie Malek	34,500 Common Stock	29.5%

Date	Amount	Security
03/2018	$96,262	SAFE
	$20,000	Loan
08/2017	$385,000	SAFE

Name	Robin Cooper
Amount Invested	$10,000
Transaction type	Loan
Issued	01/01/2016
Outstanding principal plus interest	$11,698 as of 11/2017
Interest	4.0 per annum
Maturity	10/01/2019
Outstanding	Yes
Current with payments	Yes
Relationship	Founder

Name	Hooshang Malek
Amount Invested	$100,000
Transaction type	Safe
Issued	08/30/2017
Discount rate	20.0
Relationship	Father
Safe notes with valuation cap of $2.5 million for Friends & Family round ending 8/30/17 3 mil for seed round which is on going

Name	Ladie Malek
Amount Invested	$10,000
Transaction type	Loan
Issued	07/01/2016
Outstanding principal plus interest	$11,698 as of 11/2017
Interest	4.0 per annum
Maturity	10/01/2019
Outstanding	Yes
Current with payments	Yes
Relationship	Founder


Name	Hooshang Malek
Amount Invested	$100,000
Transaction type	Loan
Issued	12/15/2018
Outstanding principal plus interest	$100,750 as of 04/2019
Interest	3.0 per annum
Maturity	12/30/2019
Outstanding	Yes
Current with payments	Yes
Relationship	Father

Name	Steve Rasmussen
Amount Invested	$35,000
Transaction type	Safe
Issued	03/02/2018
Discount rate	20.0
Valuation cap	$3,500,000
Relationship	Investor

Name	Ladie Malek
Amount Invested	$25,000
Transaction type	Loan
Issued	12/01/2018
Outstanding principal plus interest	$25,188 as of 04/2019
Interest	3.0 per annum
Maturity	12/30/2019
Outstanding	Yes
Current with payments	Yes
Relationship	Founder

Name	Robin Cooper
Amount Invested	$25,000
Transaction type	Loan
Issued	12/01/2018
Outstanding principal plus interest	$25,188 as of 04/2019
Interest	3.0 per annum
Maturity	12/30/2019
Outstanding	Yes
Current with payments	Yes
Relationship	Founder

Director	Occupation	Joined
Ladie Malek	Business Owner/Publisher @ Self	2015
Robin Cooper	Science Teacher/Business Owner @ Albany Unified School District	2015

$50,000	Hire one more part time product developer and one more assistant for the next few months, to complete the product in time for submission to the state of California for review.
$800,000	Staff up in sales, marketing, and customer support. Increase marketing state-wide and build our sales and customer support teams.

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