Latest Our Blog

Teacher works with preschool students

Spotlight on Evidence: The Role of Curricula and Professional Learning in Improving Pre-K Quality

There’s broad scientific agreement that Pre-K programs can have positive impacts on children’s learning and development, but simply providing access to Pre-K isn’t enough—the quality of the program and the teaching matter. Meghan McCormick examines what we know about the important role high-quality instructional materials and professional learning play in strengthening Pre-K programs.

[Webinar] Professional Development: What Works, and What’s on the Horizon

Join us for a panel conversation on the research behind what works in professional development, as well as innovation on the horizon to make PD more relevant, timely, and beneficial for educators and students. Hear from researchers and nonprofit leaders from Teaching Lab, Leading Educators, Modern Classrooms Project, and the Research Partnership for Professional Learning.

Spotlight On Growth: Museum of Science

In this “Spotlight On Growth,” Emma Banay is joined by Dr. Christine Cunningham, senior vice president of STEM learning at the Museum of Science in Boston. They discuss the importance of engaging, hands-on STEM learning for all students, how the Museum grew the reach of its education programming both in- and out-of-school, and the impact of its signature YES and EiE curricula.

2025 AI Strategy Update

We believe AI has the potential to serve as a powerful tool in the classroom—not as a replacement for teachers, but as an assistant to help educators make learning more engaging, personalized, and effective. Here, we outline what we’ve learned from our AI investments and how we’ll refine our approach in 2025.

2025 Funding Strategy Updates Across Portfolios

Each year, we assess our funding strategies both at the foundation and portfolio levels, ensuring our grantmaking and strategic support remain responsive to the needs of our grantees and their beneficiaries. Here, we detail our strategies across our four main investment areas in 2025.

Our 2025 Research Strategy

As an impact-focused education funder, we’re committed to studying programs, interventions, and approaches that show promise in supporting students and educators. In 2025, we’re continuing to make targeted investments in rigorous evaluations, field-building research, and large-scale data projects that can help guide the field.

Our Grantmaking & Impact in 2024

In 2024, Overdeck Family Foundation disbursed $63.5 million to 106 grantee partners, collectively reaching approximately 75 million children, 6 million families, and 500,000 educators nationwide. In our latest Grantmaking & Impact Report, we highlight how our grantmaking and strategic support helped our nonprofit partners develop exciting prototypes and innovative practices, engage in field-building research, and achieve growth in 2024.