Co-Founders Dr. Ashleigh Barnes & Jonathan Andrew worked together as law professors, entrepreneurs, and – well – parents before they founded Unlock in 2021.

Unlock pulls on every step of their journey – but the idea crystalized through one experience.

Ashleigh and Jonathan worked with students in public schools who needed a minimum standardized test score to graduate. Despite hours on Khan Academy, the students couldn’t pinpoint what learning gaps – what skills or substance -- were making the whole subject feel hard. Ashleigh and Jonathan analyzed previous PSAT results to identify the skills that would make the biggest difference to this cohort. They found – astoundingly – that 80% of score loss was – for 80% of the group – due to just 2 skills.

These experiences underlined the view that learning remains overwhelmingly – and unsustainably – manual. What’s more – since students have different substantive gaps and learning styles, identifying areas of need and then locating resources to address those needs requires an incredible amount of time, persistence, and skill. And while online resources offerings are vast, they can be unorganized and overwhelming.

The result? Learning is often dictated by resources, not ability. Unlock seeks to respond to this gap by bringing data science to the fingertips of students - and most importantly teachers - as they assess and respond to learning gaps.