Pre-Seed · $500K · SAFE
The AI-driven, student-centered content platform
that gets kids excited about learning
that gets kids excited about learning
ArcSchool lets students earn credit by creating their own peer-to-peer learning content —
turning students from passive test-takers into active teachers, makers, and doers.
Peer-to-Peer Learning
Credit-Bearing
Portland, Oregon
The Problem
Outdated, one-size-fits-all learning platforms are broken — and students know it
"Seriously, everything about my online make-up course is cringe, outdated and childish. A guy in my class used a cheat app to click through. I just zone out completely."
1.2M students
fail to recover credits each year in the US
~30% completion
average rate on passive online credit recovery platforms
$1.5B market
spent annually on credit recovery — with poor outcomes
The Research Gap
What online CSCL platforms miss by a mile
It's not working for students, teachers, districts or nationally
Credit Recovery
EdResearch for Recovery shows most online credit-recovery tools are solo, vendor-built modules — and students often learn less than in face-to-face recovery, even when they regain credits. These are the students least likely to ask for help in isolated environments.
Social-Emotional Learning
AASA and EdWeek report that SEL often becomes a compliance module because schools lack time, training, and funding — so students don't actually feel more seen or connected.
Everyday Classrooms
Research on peer culture and belonging shows that classmates strongly shape whether students feel like they belong and can learn — yet most school platforms do not support structured peer interaction.
Online learning has plenty of content. What's missing is a way for students to feel connected, useful, and seen.
The Founder
I've been watching this unfold over my own two decades of academic & industry research on kids, learning and tech; Finally, AI has helped us arrive at this opportunity.
Dr. Ali Maaxa is the right kind of technical founder for this mission: she's lived inside enterprise AI, youth media, and learning sciences — and built at the intersection of all three (Meta AI, AWS AI, New Relic AI, Recreation.gov, Ableton Learning) .
International Scholar & Research Fellow
Youth and digital media, Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow, research on how young people learn through creating and sharing media.
Enterprise AI Background
Deep experience building AI-powered products, giving ArcSchool a technical edge most edtech founders lack.
Youth Media Expertise
Understands how teens create, consume, and respond to video content — critical for designing a platform they'll actually use.
Learning Sciences Foundation
Grounded in CSCL, peer learning research, and Bloom's taxonomy — the academic backbone of ArcSchool's pedagogy.
The ArcSchool Difference
What if online coursework was actually connective, creative..and even kind of cool?
Learn from Creatives
ArcSchool brings in well-known content creators, filmmakers, designers, and thinkers to teach students how to create content they're genuinely proud of — work that shows depth of knowledge no click-through quiz ever could.
Make It Your Own
Students choose their style — music, energy, calm — and learn professional-grade tools of digital creation in a safe, learning-centered environment. Their work goes into their own portfolio, social media, college apps, or beyond.
Feel the Impact
When a peer in their zip code learns from their video, students feel it. ArcSchool turns coursework into something worth sharing — and worth keeping.
They don't just pass the course by taking a multiple choice test. They walk away with work they made, skills they own, and proof they can teach.
3-Horizon Market Opportunity to Fix the Problem
A $1.5B wedge into a $30B+ K–12 digital learning market
$1.5B
Credit Recovery TAM
Horizon 1 (beachhead): Annual US spend on credit recovery — dominated by passive, low-engagement platforms ripe for disruption.
$8B
SEL & Advisory TAM
Horizon 2 (2-4 years): expansion into social-emotional learning — same platform, new use cases.
$30B+
K–12 Digital Learning TAM
North Star: ArcSchool as the peer-to-peer learning layer across all subjects and grade levels, revolutionizing the way classroom content impacts learning
Today's platforms serve outdated content on outdated infrastructure — and students are telling us loudly. ArcSchool is built on what the research, the data, and the kids themselves are saying.
Today's platforms serve outdated content on outdated infrastructure — and students are telling us loudly. ArcSchool is built on what the research, the data, and the kids themselves are saying.
The Solution
ArcSchool: Students earn credit by teaching each other
A credit-bearing peer-learning platform where students:
- watch, learn from and engage other students like them,
- create short video explanations of learning content,
- tailor their content to core standards,
- benefit from AI reviews & recommendations,
- get reviewed and recognized by educators,
- and have their work seen by peers who need it.
Students Create
Record a short video explaining a concept they've mastered — structured, standards-aligned, and original.
AI Evaluates
Our AI layer scores accuracy, clarity, and standards alignment — flagging issues before teacher review.
Teachers Approve & Credit Awarded
Teachers confirm in ~2 minutes. Students earn credit. Peers get a better explanation than any textbook.
The Insight
Students don't fail because they can't learn — they disengage because the nature of learning has changed
The Setup
A student fails Algebra and is handed two options: repeat the same class, or grind through a low-engagement online course that looks exactly like what already didn't work.
The Moment They Check Out
They log into a platform like Edgenuity, see another stack of canned videos and auto-graded quizzes, and conclude: this is school happening to them—not with them. Today, many students are hiring AI apps to fake their way through the work.
The Real Loss
At-promise students start to disappear—not because they can't learn, but because the way we ask them to learn doesn't see them as capable creators.
ArcSchool asks a different question: what if the path back in is to create something that proves they understand and helps a peer?
How It Works
From "I'm not sure I get it" to "I've got this — and I have a unique way to tell you about it"
Choose a Topic
Student selects a concept from their failed course — one they now feel ready to explain.
Learn It Deeply
Guided by ArcSchool's scaffolding and other students' content on the topc, they research, outline, and prepare their explanation.
Record & Submit
Student records a short video explanation — structured, on-topic, and in their own voice.
AI Reviews First
AI checks for accuracy, standards alignment, and completeness before it reaches the teacher.
Teacher Approves → Credit Earned
Teacher reviews in ~2 min. Credit awarded. The video joins the peer library for other students.
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"You don't just pass. You are now the person who can teach this."
The Technology
While most EdTech struggles with emerging tech, our AI layer makes student-created content evaluable at scale without compromising quality
ArcSchool's AI doesn't replace the teacher — it does the heavy lifting so teachers can focus on the 2-minute decision that matters.
Transcript Analysis
Checks factual accuracy and conceptual completeness against standards.
Visual & Structure Review
Evaluates clarity, pacing, and whether the explanation follows a logical arc.
Integrity Flagging
Detects AI-generated or plagiarized content — keeping the work authentically student-made.
Standards Alignment
Maps each submission to district curriculum standards automatically.
Competitive Landscape & Moat
Why ArcSchool is different — and hard to copy
Legacy Platforms
Edgenuity (the incumbent in online coursework) and peers deliver publisher content with auto-graded quizzes. Built for throughput and compliance—not student authorship. High churn, low engagement.
Peer Learning Tools
Brainly, Schoolhouse, and tutoring apps enable informal help and collaboration, but are not tied to standards-aligned, teacher-approved, credit-bearing artifacts in K–12. They're beside schools, not in them.
ArcSchool's Moat
Credit-bearing explanations mapped to district standards ·
AI layer that makes youth media evaluable ·
Proprietary student explanation library & Founder-market fit across enterprise AI, youth media, and learning sciences.
AI layer that makes youth media evaluable ·
Proprietary student explanation library & Founder-market fit across enterprise AI, youth media, and learning sciences.
Our Defensible Advantages
- Credit-bearing student teaching — no one else does this in K–12
- Proprietary explanation library — grows with every student submission
- AI assessment layer — purpose-built for youth video content
- Founder-market fit — Dr. Ali Maaxa: enterprise AI + youth media + learning sciences
Others have content or peer help. ArcSchool has credit-bearing student teaching at scale.
Where We Stand
May 2026
Current Status
Pre-product, pre-revenue — and building on solid ground
Our seret sauce: Learning Sciences + Media Foundation
CSCL, Bloom's 'create,' peer learning research, and design principles for credit recovery are all mapped to the product architecture.
Non-Dilutive Funding in Progress
Applying for $250K SBIR Phase I federal R&D funding to validate the AI assessment layer — this does not come out of your equity.
Design Partner Districts
Identifying 1–2 Oregon districts to co-develop and test the MVP alongside us — real feedback before we scale. Our advisory borad members who work in these districts tell us they are ready to pay for real solutions.
Raising $500K Pre-Seed
On a SAFE to fund platform v1, run the pilots, and generate the case studies that make the seed round obvious.
Growth Strategy
Three horizons: from credit recovery wedge to system-wide peer learning platform
1
Horizon 1 · 0–18 Months
Prove it where the pain is loudest. Credit recovery in two Oregon districts for Algebra 1 and English 9, focused on at-promise students not succeeding in current options.
2
Horizon 2 · ~24 Months
From fixing failure to building voice. Expand into SEL, advisory, and creator-based learning experiences—same platform, new use cases for identity, reflection, and communication.
3
Horizon 3 · 3+ Years
Peer-to-peer layer for school systems. Sit alongside LMS and SIS as the platform where students earn badges and credit by teaching peers across all subjects.
Credit recovery is the wedge, not the finish line.
Use of Funds
From prototype to district-validated platform
Raising $500K on a SAFE. Here's exactly where it goes:
Product & AI — $220K (44%)
- Ship v1: student task selection, creation tools, AI feedback, and progress tracking.
- Build and harden the AI assessment layer for transcripts, visuals, structure, and integrity.
- Implement SSO and SIS/LMS integrations for early district partners.
Pilots & R&D — $180K (36%)
- Design and run two 9-month pilots in Oregon: Algebra 1 and English 9 credit recovery.
- Measure completion, engagement, and peer-helpfulness; generate case studies and publishable evaluation.
Go-to-Market & Runway — $100K (20%)
- Founder salary so Dr. Ali Maaxa can lead product, research, and field work full-time.
- On-site workshops, training, and stakeholder sessions in Oregon districts.
- Legal, compliance, and credit-award models aligned with Oregon board rules.
The Ask
Raising $500K to prove a new category in K–12 learning
$500K Pre-Seed · SAFE
Structured to prove that credit-bearing peer learning can outperform today's passive credit recovery — with real students, real credits, and real districts.
What It Funds
ArcSchool v1 — full student and educator experience plus the AI assessment layer — and two 9-month pilots in Oregon high schools.
What It Unlocks
Positions ArcSchool for non-dilutive R&D funding (SBIR $250K) and a larger seed round once we have product in market, published case studies, and a growing district pipeline.
“We've known we need a student-centered digital content solution like this.” → “We've seen it work with kids who need it the most.”
ArcSchool · Pre-Seed 2026
Appendix
Supporting materials for deeper due diligence
Credit Recovery Landscape
Competitive Positioning
Go-to-Market
Founder & Expertise
AI Usage
Financial Projections
Appendix · A1
Horizon 1: The Credit Recovery Landscape has a migraine problem it needs to solve
30% of American HS students need to make up credits to graduate — current solutions are broken
What districts are using today — and what's broken about it.
Vendor-Led Online Recovery
Edgenuity, Apex Learning, Edmentum/PLATO, Imagine Learning, Stride/K12
Vendor content, auto-graded quizzes, seat-time progress. Low engagement, click-through culture, no peer pedagogy — proof of learning is shallow.
In-Person & Blended Programs
Twilight/night school, summer school, teacher-led recovery
Relationship-based but expensive to staff, hard to scale post-pandemic, inconsistent quality across districts.
LMS / Online Course Platforms
Canvas, Schoology, Google Classroom
Infrastructure only — not dedicated recovery solutions. Require significant local content design and investment.
Community & Peer Platforms
Discord, peer-tutoring apps, informal platforms
Students self-organize informally — not tied to credit, no standards alignment, no oversight or assessment.
ArcSchool is the only platform that turns peer explanation into credit-bearing, standards-aligned evidence of learning.
Appendix · A2
Where ArcSchool Sits: A New EdTech Category
A distinct category: credit-bearing peer-learning, built from student-created content.
Vendor-Produced Content
Edgenuity, Apex, Edmentum, Stride
Student-Created Content ★
ArcSchool
Seat Time & Quiz Scores
Traditional credit recovery: watch videos, click through modules, pass auto-graded quizzes. Completion = credit.
Explanations That Help Peers Learn
ArcSchool: students earn credit by creating standards-aligned explanations that other students actually use. Teaching = evidence of mastery.
Credit Recovery First
Built for the line item districts already fund — but the model extends to SEL, new pedagogy, and any subject.
Peer Learning That Counts
Captures the motivation and depth of peer explanation while giving districts standards-aligned, assessable evidence.
Complements Your Stack
Not an LMS or SIS replacement — ArcSchool is the learning workflow layer that sits on top of existing infrastructure.
Appendix · A3
Go-to-Market: Oregon/PNW Pilots First
Working with PPS leadership, we develop our product in tandem with classes of high schoolers who need better online learning solutions (our beachhead)
A practical GTM plan focused on Oregon and nearby districts.
Target Buyers
Directors of secondary education, credit recovery coordinators, alternative programs in Oregon and Pacific Northwest. We alreacdy have warm connections with these decision-makers.
Initial Offer
2 pilot packages for Algebra 1 and English 9 credit recovery with at-promise students. 9-month duration, blended with existing supports.
Value to Districts
Higher engagement, deeper evidence of learning via student artifacts + AI-assisted review, aligned with emerging design principles for effective online credit recovery.
In-Person Engagement
Early partnerships include in-person student content workshops with Nike content creators, early MVP development, and contextual R&D as we measure impact and outcomes with early case studies.
Sales Motion
Direct outreach, Oregon / PNW networks, referrals from early partners, and alignment with state innovation and recovery initiatives.
Appendix · A5
How ArcSchool Uses AI (and How It Doesn't)
AI as a differentiator — used responsibly.
What AI Does NOT Do
AI never creates the explainer for the student.
AI is used to evaluate and support what students create — not to generate content on their behalf. This protects authenticity and the learning value of the work.
Feedback, Not Judgment
AI suggests improvements — 'add a second example,' 'define this term' — but final credit decisions always stay with educators.
Transcription & Concept Checks
AI converts speech to text and confirms required vocabulary and concepts are actually present — not just mentioned once.
Visual & Structural Checks
Equations, diagrams, and annotations are verified to be visible, legible, and organized as the task requires.
Integrity & Efficiency
Plagiarism and AI-generation detection flags scripted or copied work. This reduces teacher review time and makes student-generated content viable at scale.
Appendix · A6
Revenue Model & Financial Projections: Horizon 1 (Credit Recovery)
How we make money — and what the numbers look like.
How We Make Money
Customer
K-12 districts and alternative programs — initially Oregon / PNW.
Pricing
Annual per-student license starting at $75–$100/student/year — below typical vendor course costs but with better engagement and evidence.
Contracts
Pilot phase: $5K–$15K fixed-fee pilots. Scale phase: annual contracts with minimum student counts, expanding by subject and school.
Core Assumptions
Start with 2 pilot districts in Year 1, growing to 10–12 districts by Year 3 if pilots are successful.
Average Initial Deployment
75–150 students per district in credit recovery, expanding to 250–500 as SEL and core-class use cases are added.
Unit Economics
SaaS-style unit economics with targeted 75–85% gross margin, consistent with software-led edtech platforms.