Amy Swann & Sajan George

Sajan George and Dr. Amy Swann are two of the minds at Matchbook Learning, a nonprofit founded by Sajan in 2011 to help turn around the bottom five percent of schools across the country.  They propose to launch a new K-8 Innovation charter school in Indianapolis, which would be the seventh version of a school turnaround model that has been tested and refined in Detroit and Newark, NJ.

Matchbook Learning combines the best in both public school turnaround expertise and blended learning expertise. As a non-profit charter school operator that targets underperforming schools with a competency-based, technology enabled turnaround model, it brings together some of the country’s leading practitioners in engagements involving lead turnaround partners, blended school design and implementation and coaching of master teachers.

This tri-fold experience helps Matchbook target school turnarounds with a customized blended model that blends face-to-face and virtual instruction in brick-and-mortar schools via a one-on-one computing environment, while coaching teachers to personalize instruction for the benefit of each child in their classroom.  Its unique and innovative blended turnaround school model is the first of its kind in the nation to be offered to schools with the highest poverty rates and needs.

Amy currently is chief academic officer for Matchbook, where she leads the company’s academic model, curriculum, assessment design and instructional capacity building.  Prior to joining Matchbook, she was principal of Bate Middle School in Kentucky, where under her leadership the school was named a P21 Exemplar by the Partnership for 21st Century Schools.  She previously served as an assistant principal and teacher in several schools in Kentucky.  She attended the University of Kentucky, where she earned two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree in social studies and a doctorate in educational leadership & instruction.

In addition to her national work, Amy has published papers and spoken during international symposiums on education leadership in Finland, China and Sweden.