tl;dr‍

Primer is providing year-long funding for three fellows to kick-start the creation of their dream school using Primer’s tools built specifically for interest-based clubs and collaborative, experiential learning.

Today, we’re launching our first Primer Fellows program. 

We believe that kids are remarkable – and that the current education system is underestimating them. To change this, we need your help.

The kids on Primer are insatiably curious and wildly passionate, and we’re looking for three educators (loosely defined!) to help nurture their energy by creating and scaling totally unique learning experiences and communities on a topic of their choosing on Primer.

How we got here

We created Primer to build a space where kids are taken seriously and educated in a way that allows them to thrive in a complex world, rather than pass tests. Where they learn how to think instead of what to think. Where they’re encouraged to reimagine their potential and are empowered to create their imagined future. 

We’re not in the business of recreating school online. We’re building new tools that enable educators and creators to build immersive internet-native learning experiences and community in ways that were never possible before, expanding opportunities for kids that are far more engaging than uni-directional teaching like Youtube, TikTok, or longform writing.

Primer is more than just scaling access to content and democratizing content creation; it’s about raising the ceiling for the types of learning experiences that are possible.

These experiences live in interest-based clubs that empower kids to explore their curiosities and make meaningful work alongside other kids who share their passions. They’ve blown us away with their work in both Primer-created and kid-created clubs around art, storytelling, chess, gaming, coding, cooking, naturalism and more.

We’ve always known that we could create the most impact by spending our energy on creating novel educational tools and then opening up these tools to the amazing community of educators and experts around the world. Today we’re launching the Primer Fellowship to make that happen.

If you’ve been dreaming of using technology to help build the school of the future – consider this your invitation.

Where we’re going

Over the next few years, Primer will become the best place on the internet for kids to explore any interest with dedicated learning communities for chess, programming, filmmaking, poetry, geometry, physics, electronic music, design, fashion, computational art, animation, & more. Those interest based spaces will be led by people like you.

We hope to find fellows that are excited about changing the trajectory of thousands (eventually, millions) of kids’ lives who join their learning communities.

To make this happen both Primer and the Fellows will have complementary roles to play.

• Primer is building unrivaled tools for safety, participation, collaboration, and all types of project-based and experiential learning online.
• Primer will manage user signup, onboarding, payment, content moderation, age verification, and other platform-related needs.
• Fellows will craft a vision for their club and build world-class learning experiences, including creating content, engaging with kids, and working together with Primer to market and scale their community. 

For Primer Fellows, this means you will build a life-changing business around your teaching, with revenue that isn’t built on ads or sponsorships. It will be built on kids opting-into and purchasing life-changing learning experiences, fueled by new content and engaging community. What starts as a one-year fellowship, will turn into a long-term, durable business that is helping kids grow not just as students but as humans. 

On that note, we’re ready to be surprised. If there’s anything we’ve learned since starting Primer, it’s that curiosity and joy of learning spreads fast. We’re totally open-minded about what you’d want the focus of your space to be. In fact, the more unique the better!

Sound like it might be up your alley? Here's how to apply—we can’t wait to hear from you.

What should my proposal look like?

In any format you’d like, please pitch us the space you’d like to create on Primer. At a minimum, the pitch should include:

• The topic you are interested in diving deep on.
• How you intend to engage learners.
• The kind of community you want to create.
• What makes this space unique.
• Your desired time commitment.
• Why you want to create this space and why Primer is the right place to do it.
• What the ideal version of this space looks like 3 years from now.
• Feel free to also include work samples that give us an idea of your style, past work, or inspirations.

Email your proposal to [email protected].

FAQ

What will I do during the fellowship?

If your proposal is selected, your fellowship will be focused on bringing it to life. You’ll be given access to the full set of Primer tools to launch your own Primer Club. Depending on the specifics of your proposal you can expect to be: creating content, building curriculum, interacting with kids live in Rooms, giving us product feedback, helping inform the product roadmap, and more.

‍How long is the fellowship?‍

The fellowship will last for one year, but we’d love to work with fellows who plan to continue running their communities independently beyond that.

‍What’s the time commitment?

We’re open to fellows that can commit both part-time and full-time. We’re not dogmatic, but assume that the minimum commitment is roughly 15 hours/week.

‍What’s the stipend look like?

Compensation will fluctuate based on the proposal and time commitment, but we anticipate providing up to $7,000/mo and can provide benefits if the proposal is for more than 20 hours/week.

‍Where do fellows need to be based?

We have a preference for fellows who can either live in the Bay Area or are willing to make semi-frequent trips to San Francisco, but will consider strong candidates regardless of location or travel ability.