Dive Brief:

• The first fund created by New Schools' spinoff of its Seed Fund will be called Reach. 
• The newly rebranded ed tech fund, part of a joint venture between NewSchools and Seed dubbed NewSchools Capital, will specifically look for products and ideas where technology is being used to address K-12 access and opportunity challenges. 
• Among Reach's initial investments are Zeal, Nearpod, and eSpark, three companies that help educators differentiate learning.

Dive Insight:

This looks to be a sign of growth and maturation. With the splitting off of the seed fund, NewSchools can focus on more projects in its Venture Fund while also giving those investments more individual attention. When the fund was originally launched, its focus was primarily on charter schools. It has since expanded its attention to a variety of education groups, businesses, and technologies. The spinoff and creation of Reach acknowledges the changing interests and directions.

L. John Doerr, the co-founder of NewSchools Venture Fund, has been noted in the past as one of Silicon Valley's movers and shakers in the education technology world.