Within Reach: 2026’s Breakthrough Ideas in Learning

AI has arrived in classrooms faster than any technology before it, and while early gains have focused on efficiency, the opportunity is much deeper. The real promise isn’t about doing school faster or cheaper; it’s about rethinking what learning is, who it serves, and how human potential is developed in today’s world.

In this installment of our Breakthrough Ideas series, we explore the ideas that will redefine learning in 2026. We see a shift away from tools that merely digitize existing systems toward platforms that reshape pedagogy, assessment, funding, and infrastructure itself. 

The most important changes ahead will be centered around authenticity, equity, and human-centered learning. Whether it’s AI that helps teachers design richer learning experiences, assessments that value thinking over shortcuts, funding models that follow learners instead of institutions, or AI-native platforms that become the backbone of school operations, the breakthroughs of 2026 point toward a system that is more adaptive, personal, and aligned with how people teach and learn.

See here for our other Breakthrough Ideas in Health and Work.

AI That Puts the “Ed” Back in Edtech

Jim Lobdell, Venture Partner

Having been in and around K-12 classrooms for more than three decades, one of the most important factors in making or breaking the student experience is the quality of instructional materials. Designing a difference-making curriculum requires pedagogical know-how, an understanding of what makes kids tick and how to grab their focus, and a healthy dose of creativity. This is very, very difficult to do, which is why so many instructional materials are mediocre and why so many students are disengaged.

My hope for 2026 is that applications of AI in K-12 will shift from time-saving workflow tools and generic lesson generators to products that enable teachers to create unique, engaging, and relevant learning experiences that get kids to think more and interact with peers more, not less. With so many students using AI in ways that shortcut thinking, the AI products informed by educators with deep instructional experience, classroom knowledge, and a strong pedagogical point of view can stand out. 

The forever challenge with edtech is that too often the “ed” is less prominent in products than the “tech.” Let’s hope that this year AI is better leveraged to bring students together for lively, meaningful, human-centered learning.

The Return of Oral Assessments

Jennifer Carolan, General Partner

2026 will be the year that oral assessments gain a foothold in educational institutions. While some are going back to blue books and handwritten exams, others will test the waters with oral exams, a serious way to assess student knowledge. 

AI now shapes the written work in schools, from homework and essays to assessments, journals, and lesson plans. Its footprint extends beyond classrooms into policies, parent communications, and student feedback. In truth, few corners of education remain untouched by tools that promise to streamline the work of teaching and learning. Some schools will abandon the Sisyphean effort to outrun AI and embrace oral exams and other authentic demonstrations of learning. If these assessments take root, it will dramatically change school curricula. 

The second big idea is more incremental: to justify high tuition and mounting student debt, colleges will have to weave work experience into the core of the degree. Co-ops, paid internships, employer-embedded projects, and stronger career placement will shift from extras to requirements. Postsecondary programs will move from classroom simulations to true apprenticeships — co-designed with industry, evaluated by real-world deliverables, and sustained by partnerships that bring the “real world” into the syllabus.

From Tools to Infrastructure: AI Becomes the School Operating System

Wayee Chu, General Partner

Today’s school operations are constrained by clunky, fragmented infrastructure. Data is siloed, operations are reactive, and the effort required to wrangle outdated systems and manual processes only adds to the administrative burden on educators and families. Every new tool adds yet another thing to manage.

Staffing shortages and tightening budgets are forcing districts to modernize operations faster than incremental tools can support. AI-native systems collapse these constraints, making it possible to deploy new capabilities without increasing complexity or burden.

Across K–12 and higher education, AI is becoming the operating system for school operations. A unified, AI-powered ecosystem—where scheduling, learning, security, device management, communications, and data work together seamlessly—is within reach. This new infrastructure will enable schools and colleges to:

• automate administrative workflows—attendance, scheduling, reporting, and communications—so educators can focus on high-impact student support;
• shift school safety from reactive to proactive, using real-time detection and early intervention rather than post-incident response;
• anticipate operational failures, from devices to facilities, before they disrupt teaching and learning;
• transform student information systems from static compliance databases into predictive engines that identify risk and recommend interventions; and
• forecast and allocate resources intelligently, using unified data to improve budgeting, staffing, and strategic planning

Reach has been investing in pioneers rebuilding core school workflows with AI at the center — from reimagining the SIS from the ground up (Scout), to transforming how data is accessed and shared (Ednition), to real-time security detection and intervention (Curvepoint), and modern device management (Doorman). We’re excited to meet more founders who are helping districts bridge the gap between today’s fragmented systems and tomorrow’s intelligent, integrated school operating environment.

Funding That Follows People, Not Institutions

Steve Kupfer, Partner

For decades, public dollars have flowed almost exclusively to institutions because they were the only entities governments could reliably audit. As a result, families and providers were often buried in paperwork tied to inflexible, outdated service models. Labor shortages and growing demand is finally forcing the system to change.

In 2026, states will continue to pass policies that move public dollars closer to families and frontline providers. Education savings accounts may get the headlines, but more subtle signals point to a deeper shift. Districts are paying parents to transport students, states are expanding child-care accounts, and policymakers are actively considering increases to FSAs. Funding is moving from institutions to individuals because verification is finally cheaper than centralization. 

Historically, these options often collapsed under administrative burden and fraud risk. Heightened attention to waste and abuse would once have pushed funding back towards institutions. Now, it is accelerating the move away from them. Today technology can instantly verify eligibility, validate service delivery in real time, and produce audit ready records automatically. What used to be overhead can now become infrastructure. 

The winning teams in this category will build systems that make flexible funding inevitable, allowing public dollars to reach students and patients at the moment they’re needed.

AI-Native Learning

Jennifer Wu, Venture Partner

In the three years since ChatGPT was released, educator sentiment about AI has evolved from panic about cheating, to novelty (“Let’s chat with Amelia Earhart!”), to some real productivity gains. By late 2025, 85% of teachers and 86% of students have now tried AI, with teachers reporting average savings of 6 hours per week on administrative tasks.

Now, we are ready for solutions that go beyond helping us “do school” more efficiently. Let’s rethink school altogether. Our current success metrics — grades, standardized tests, and credentials — were designed in the era of the industrial revolution. Generative AI is a wake up call that makes this antiquated system frighteningly apparent.

For our learners to be successful in this new reality, our goal can no longer be rote compliance. AI-native learning might ask students to leverage AI to tackle personally relevant, real-world problems, or to express their thinking and creativity. Instead of solving for how to automate the teacher, how can we use AI to amplify the learner, and to

• Make learning authentic, relevant, and safe for students?
• Prioritize skills with enduring value for future careers and lives, skills that have historically been hard to teach and assess?
• Significantly move the needle on student learning outcomes?

This future is still undefined, and the status quo will be slow to change. The winners of 2026 will be platforms that not only have a strong point of view about this future, but also help educators successfully bridge the gap between today’s constraints and tomorrow’s possibilities.

If you’re building in any of these areas, we’d love to hear from you!