With the launch of enrichment provider Brains & Motion Education (BAM!), I now have a great idea on how to keep my kids entertained this summer. BAM! is a tech-enabled company unlocking the potential of students year-round, through not only after-school and structured recess, but summer camps too. With STEM, arts, and sports programs, they provide a much better alternative for my kids than rewatching the same episode of Spidey and His Amazing Friends for the hundredth time. As the only nationwide provider with a focus on whole-child development, BAM! aims to stimulate young minds while keeping growing bodies joyfully active. And joyfully occupied while I’m working from home and they aren’t at school.
I think formal education should inspire kids and prepare them for the future. Beyond learning basic skills like reading and writing, kids also need to build social and emotional skills, confidence, and subject matter expertise through a wide variety of hands-on, project-based activities. However, if you ask me (and my kids), too much of the school day is boring for students. This could be due to constraints caused by a perhaps overly structured system, school districts stressed out from teacher shortages, and teachers struggling to provide individualized instruction to large groups of students. Perhaps more importantly, more than 25 million students have no place to go after school and lack access to additional opportunities to develop skills outside of the school day.
“Many schools would love to teach students how to play chess, program robots, develop computational thinking skills, create sophisticated digital artwork, become strong creative writers, and provide students with meaningful exposure to artificial intelligence systems through project-based learning,” said Bart Epstein, BAM!’s CEO. “There just isn’t enough time in the school day. These types of enrichment activities can and should be available to every student, regardless of their zip code.”
Epstein, like many successful people, credits much of his success in life to the teachers who sparked his curiosity and confidence. In his case, it was through an after-school aviation and rocketry enrichment program. Twenty years later, he became a commercial pilot and civilian test pilot for NASA, and then an educator and entrepreneur. I’m pretty sure my kids won’t fly for NASA (they can barely handle a rollercoaster), but they could absolutely benefit from the confidence gained in growing their skills in this kind of enrichment program.
The BAM! leadership team features other executives with letters in their job titles and extensive experience driving growth, scale, and successful implementations, including COO Kristopher Kasper, CMO Christina Yu, VP of Sales Lori Todd, VP of Product Jody Nova, and CFO Jennifer Thresher. Told you there’d be letters.
Due in part to the success of its after-school programs, BAM! Is getting tons of interest in its summer 2024 camp programs. These include RoboKids, GameCraft, and MakersQuest which reflect new career exploration curriculum and new interdisciplinary STEAM programs, including animation, game design, creative writing, and machine learning. While my kids may never fly to space, my seven year-old daughter would absolutely love a creative writing program where she can write about space. Or probably more accurately, write about puppies.
Beyond summer break, I’d love to see these kinds of programs offered in my kids’ school district. I think high-quality enrichment that includes a mix of physical activity and hands-on learning addresses a variety of learning challenges in an easy, practical, and cost-effective way. “Providing our families with access to enrichment activities after 3 pm and during dedicated break times throughout the academic day helps us with some of the biggest problems in education at a fraction of the cost of formal education and at a small percentage more than basic after-care,” said Lesem Puerto, Community School Partnership Manager at the Children’s Institute. “Students who attend inspiring project-based enrichment programs during recess and lunch, and beyond, are more engaged during the school day. That’s something that we all love to see.”
The company currently has a presence in ten key regions – notably San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Chicago, Boston, Denver, and Seattle – and intends to scale its after-school, summer camp, and structured recess programs nationwide.
BAM! is supported by institutional investors including New Markets Venture Partners, LearnStart, Sand Hill Angels, Women’s Venture Capital Fund, JFFVentures, and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, whose collective investments in the venture now total more than $18 million.
The company’s Board includes Gerard Robinson (former Secretary of Education in Virginia and Commissioner of Education in Florida), Juan Zavala (New Markets Venture Partners), Mark Chernis (Princeton Review, SchoolNet, Pearson), and Rob Cohen (2U, Princeton Review, Oasis). No word yet on if I’ll be invited to the next board meeting, though I’ll offer to bring the donuts.
“We believe there is strong demand for BAM!’s products and are excited to support the company in driving improved academic outcomes and equitable access to enrichment beyond the school day for students across the country”, said Juan Zavala, Principal at New Markets Venture Partners, the lead investor in BAM!. “Bart and his leadership team have deep industry expertise and experience in scaling solutions for student success. Their mission is perfectly aligned with New Markets Venture Partners’ double-bottom line investment goals.”
“In after-school and summer programs, students are given the chance to discover their strengths, explore their interests, and connect the dots between disciplines in a safe, supportive, and fun environment,” said Gerard Robinson, now professor of practice at the UVA Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and former Virginia Secretary of Education.
I know that summer should have time for kids to be kids, but I also want what is best for my kids in the long run. Will they thank me later for letting them drink right from the hose in the backyard? Maybe. Will they thank me if they find and develop their passion through one of BAM!’s programs? I sure hope so.
I Think Therefore I Dad 