About Us

The Sidekick Manifesto

Learning is human

Like humans, learning is multi-faceted. It's personal, social, and systemic all at once. And, just like humans, it natural. That makes learning a science and teachers engineers. Learning is not an algorithm. Computers compute; humans learn. Screens don't teach; people learn from people.

Potential is equitable

High-performing, struggling; young, old; rich, poor; black, white; Spanish-speaking, deaf, autistic: potential has no preference. If our grown-up superheroes don't represent our teenagers, it's on us to figure out what went wrong.

Teenagers are superheroes

They are smarter, stronger, braver, and more zealous than the rest of us. They're also a bit more self-centered. It's up to us to train, care for, and respect them like they deserve, so they foster their superpowers, join the light side, and change worlds.

Who We Are

We're an edtech nonprofit. We build relationships between the current workforce and the next to create more powerful communities.Today, we do this by crafting in-class internships: remote, X-week class projects where students work with professionals on actual business or social problems. Employers connect with students through in-class internships in less than 15 minutes a week. Teachers access these in-class internships as ready-to-go, project-based lessons that slot into their existing curriculum, so they don't have to start planning from scratch. Students build the interests, skills, and relationships they need to close the STEM skills gap and finally get an answer to, “When am I ever going to use this?”We believe if we achieve our mission, every school will write the origin stories of teenage superheroes. Every employer will assemble, retain, and unleash an equitable team who uniquely suits them. Every community will put its name on the map as a thriving tech hub or whatever powerhouse they set out to be. Finally, we'll know we've made it when we all stop being so damn surprised when a teen overcomes the stack against them and does something amazing.

Aw, shucks, thanks for the love

We're still learning how to toot our own horn, so we really appreciate these people for doing it for us.

Who We Serve






black & Hispanic or Latino

Talk to a human

Sarah's the living, breathing human who works with our schools

Schedule a chat with Sarah