Dive Brief:

• LearnZillion, a DC-based digital curriculum provider, announced that it drew in $13 million in new investments during its latest funding round.
• The company, which has expanded rapidly since its founding in 2011, offers free cloud-based Common Core-aligned textbooks for math and English.
• Previously, it drew $10 million in investments. The current round included familiar ed investors like Owl Ventures.

Dive Insight:

The company is part of a new pack in the digital textbook alternative world: the open source, open access provider. The company's textbooks, like those offered by organizations like CK-12, are free (the company makes its money by charging professional development fees to the districts); they're also aggregated from the work of current teachers. For example, LearnZillion brought together 140 math teachers from across the country to build out its K-8 math curriculum. The model, which LearnZillion calls "the Dream Team," has also been used at the state level. LearnZillion sponsored an event in Connecticut that brought together 97 local teachers to create high quality, Common Core-aligned classroom materials.