Khan Academy Launches First-Ever National Learnstorm Education Challenge

More than 10,000 teachers across all 50 states register for the nonprofit’s free online learning event to combat summer learning loss and start the school year strong
Sep 12, 2017 1:30 PM ET

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Khan Academy announces today the start of the first-ever national LearnStorm, a free, six-week online learning challenge for grades 3-12. 

LearnStorm helps schools address the effects of summer learning loss and start the school year strong.

"Teachers tell us valuable classroom time is spent every fall re-teaching learning lost over the summer,” said Khan Academy founder and CEO Sal Khan. “LearnStorm helps students get a jump on the new school year and build a positive mindset that we think pays off in school and beyond.”

LearnStorm celebrates the “growth mindset,” the belief that anyone can build and grow their intelligence through practice and perseverance. In pilots of LearnStorm, 96% of students reported their learning confidence increased using Khan Academy. (And 94% of teachers said they’d recommend LearnStorm to a colleague.)

So far, more than 10,000 teachers and 450,000 students are registered for LearnStorm. Approximately 55% of LearnStorm teachers who report their school work in schools with a majority of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Schools can join LearnStorm now through the end of the challenge on October 20.

As students complete assignments from their teacher for LearnStorm, they can unlock a limited-availability prize box for their classroom and earn badges. Schools with the highest levels of participation in LearnStorm are eligible to apply for a grand prize opportunity that includes a school rally and up to $5,000 of school supplies.

The national roll out of LearnStorm is made possible by AT&T, the premiere supporter of the learning challenge. AT&T has been a major supporter of Khan Academy’s work since 2014 as part of the AT&T Aspire initiative. “LearnStorm will provide students across the country with access to free, online educational tools to get them excited for a year full of learning,” said Nicole Anderson, assistant vice president, social innovation, AT&T services. “We're excited to support Khan Academy in this initiative because helping students learn by using technology is a priority for us.”

Additional support for LearnStorm is generously provided by GM and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more information about LearnStorm and to sign up, visit www.learnstorm2017.org.

About Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. We use intelligent software, data analytics, and intuitive user interfaces to help students and teachers around the world. Our resources cover math, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, finance, grammar, preschool learning, and more. Khan Academy offers free personalized SAT prep in partnership with the College Board, and we are the official practice partner for AP. We provide teachers with tools and data so they can help their students develop the skills, habits, and mindsets necessary for success in school and beyond. Khan Academy has been translated into dozens of languages, and more than 10 million people around the globe learn on Khan Academy each month. For more information, visit khanacademy.org, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter at @khanacademy. And remember, you can learn anything