 | |
| Named after | George Lucas |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | The Media Tree |
| Formation | 1991; 34 years ago (1991)[a] |
| Founders | |
| Founded at | Marin County, California[2] |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| EIN 680065687 | |
| Headquarters | Skywalker Ranch San Rafael, California |
| Coordinates | 38°03′49″N122°39′09″W / 38.063534°N 122.652402°W /38.063534; -122.652402[1] |
Region served | United States |
| Products |
|
Chairman | George Lucas |
Vice Chairman | Steve Arnold |
Executive Director | Cindy Johanson |
| Website | glef |
| |
TheGeorge Lucas Educational Foundation is a nonprofitpublisher that documents and publicizes exemplary K-12 education practices and programs, especially through video.[3][4][5] It does this primarily through theEdutopia website.
An organization named "The Media Tree" was founded on 4 August 1983 inMill Valley, California byJohn Korty and others. It engaged in public relations for media content creators to the public ofMarin County.[6] On 4 September 1990, the organization was renamed to "The George Lucas Educational Foundation".[7] The George Lucas Educational Foundation is widely reported to have been founded in 1991[8][9] byGeorge Lucas andSteve Arnold.[2] Lucas originally planned for the foundation to develop technology for schools, but soon determined that schools were not interested or able to use this technology.[3] The foundation was one of the first philanthropies to invest in digital learning technology.[3]
The foundation does not usually provide grants.[citation needed] In 2006, Lucas donated $175 million to his alma mater theUniversity of Southern California through the foundation.[10]
In 2010, the foundation had a $6 million annual budget and eighteen full-time staff.[9] In 2012, the Foundation significantly increased its assets when it received the majority of the proceeds from the $4.05 billion sale ofLucasfilm toThe Walt Disney Company[3][10]
About 1994, the Foundation began publishing anewsletter entitledEdutopia.[11][2] In September 2004, the foundation launched a free glossymagazine, also titledEdutopia[12][8][2][4] with educators as thetarget audience.[2][13] From its inception, the print magazine had 85,000 subscribers.[12][13][8] By 2006, it has 100,000 subscribers.[14][15] The print magazine was discontinued in Spring 2010. but the website continued as anonline magazine.[2][3]
The Edutopia.org website was started in 2002.[16] In 2009, the foundation launched an advertising campaign, leading the website to receive 300,000 readers per month in 2010, a 70% increase from 2009.[9] Robert Pondiscio described Edutopia.org as an inspirational resource for teachers, exuding "unabashed idealism and cheerful optimism".[9] The website features a video series titled "Schools That Work" of in-depth profiles of specific schools.[9] Edutopia.org includes interactive features includingcomments,blogs, andinternet forums.[17]
The Foundation has sometimes included in its mission spreadingbest practices.[4] However, in practice, Edutopia is a nonprofitmedia company focused on satisfying and increasing its audience, not aneducational reform advocacy organization strategizing to change educational systems.[9][5] The foundation has endorsed as its core principles: "comprehensive assessment,integrated studies,project-based learning,social and emotional learning, teacher development, and technology integration".[17][9][18] Robert Pondiscio has been critical of Edutopia's tagline "what works in public education" given the lack ofempirical support for these recommendations and uncertainty about how they were developed.[9]
Edutopia increases teachers engagement with educational best practices by packaging it in an appealing multisensory video format.[19] Edutopia disseminates scientific/factual knowledge, technical knowledge, and practical wisdom, with a greater emphasis on practical wisdom, which includes judgments, values, and beliefs.[20] Many of the tips and strategies on Edutopia have not been systematically researched.[19]
