Our Story

Napa Valley Business Education Partnership — a coalition of business, government, and community leaders — recommends a different kind of high school program, as graduates are unprepared to enter the modern workplace.

The first New Tech High in the country using project-based learning opens its doors in Napa.

With $4.9M in grant funding provided by the Gates Foundation, the New Tech Foundation is formed to document and disseminate the New Tech approach.  A second donation of $14.9M was made in 2003.

Local donors match funds provided by Auction Napa Valley and the Ruth E. Schuler Foundation to create NapaLearns, the Napa Valley Partnership for 21st Century Education. The founders’ vision is to bring 21st century learning and technology to all schools in Napa County.

NapaLearns launches Digital Early Learning. $456,000 was invested and the program reaches more than 5,000 students in all pre-school and K-2nd grade classrooms in Napa County over the next five years.

In partnership with Touro University, NapaLearns initiated the NapaLearns Fellows program, investing in teachers who earn their masters degree in Education Technology at Touro University. As of 2018, more than 130 teachers have completed the program.

NapaLearns seed-funds project-based learning (PBL) bringing the New Tech Network model to 13 K-12 schools in Napa County, reaching more than 9,000 students.

The NapaLearns Tech Connection program sells more than 700 computers on a payment plan to secondary students participating in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. More than 1,500 Napa County pre-schoolers and elementary grades access Footsteps2Brilliance.

By the spring of 2016, 105 teachers have enrolled or graduated from the Touro University Masters in Ed Tech program. 99% have stayed in Napa County schools and 35% of them serve in leadership positions.

Based on the success of pilot program at American Canyon Middle School, NapaLearns expands the C-STEM Math with Computing & Robotics program, adding four schools and 6 teachers. Napa students win first place at the annual UC Davis RoboPlay competition.

NapaLearns introduces the Accelerate Math program. Partnering with the Math Learning Center, Napa Valley Unified, Calistoga Unified, and Howell Mountain school districts, NapaLearns invests in seven elementary schools to accelerate student and teacher proficiency in inquiry-based mathematics.

NapaLearns invests in programs to improve career and college readiness, launching teacher externships in the hospitality industry, an 8th grade career exploration event in partnership with Napa County Office of Education, and virtual career field trips for all students in Napa County.

NapaLearns was selected by the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL) for its Achievement in Nonprofit Excellence at the third annual Heart of Napa Awards ceremony.

With 56 teachers and 25 businesses participating, NapaLearns co-created the Napa Educator Externship program with the Napa County Office of Education.

On November 17th, Touro University presented NapaLearns its Lamplighter in Education Award. NapaLearns was recognized for investing more than $9 million in innovative, technology-infused programs, for supporting 162 Napa County teachers to earn their master’s degrees, and for providing teacher professional development opportunities to more than 1000 teachers in Napa County.

On February 6th, NapaLearns honored 150 Napa County teachers who went back to school to earn their master’s degrees in Innovative Learning from Touro University. These NapaLearns Fellows represent 33% of the teachers with master’s degrees in Napa County. U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson and State Senator Bill Dodd joined the celebration.

In May 2020, NapaLearns announced a new online program offering courses that can lead to industry-recognized certifications from Adobe, Autodesk, Cisco and Google. More than 100 participants enrolled in the inaugural program. The NapaLearns Virtual Career Academy delivers and fully funds the coursework, subject-matter experts and mentors, and access to the software and labs needed to earn one or more entry level certifications in high demand, high salaried jobs.

In October, the North Bay Business Journal selected Dr. Peg Maddocks, executive director of NapaLearns, as a recipient of its annual Nonprofit Leadership Award. The award recognized the organization for its initiative and leadership in addressing the impact that COVID-19 had on education and digital skills development, and for creating the “NapaLearns Virtual Career Academy.”