Renaissance Ranks #24 on Fast Company List of 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators

Company also recognized as a finalist on the Women Innovators and US lists, a further testament to its uniquely innovative culture

BLOOMINGTON, MN (Sept. 11, 2024) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology resources and insights, is pleased to announce its inclusion on Fast Company’s sixth annual list of 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators. This prestigious list recognizes organizations and businesses that demonstrate an inspiring commitment to encourage and develop innovation at all levels to best meet their customers’ needs.

“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by Fast Company for our approach to creating impactful edtech solutions,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance. “We pride ourselves on our thoughtful approach to product innovation, supported by decades of data insights on student learning. Because of this, Renaissance has a unique company culture driven by innovation and a desire to empower educators and accelerate learning for all.”

Innovative new product: Renaissance Next

The strategic growth and integration strategy has culminated in the launch of a powerful new teacher experience: Renaissance Next. This integrated platform combines assessment, instruction, and practice to support teachers in adjusting to a wide range of student needs in real time. A team representing departments from across the company developed Renaissance Next in close coordination, with frequent teacher feedback.

“The ability to work through problems, tackle them together, and communicate so frequently with stakeholders adds exciting new facets to our jobs,” said Storey Sitwala, Senior Director of Product Management at Renaissance, who led the development of Renaissance Next.

Part of what makes Renaissance Next possible is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enable the semantic search to find similarities across Renaissance offerings and locate the just-right resource for each student. This AI-enabled search function combines lessons and practice activities to supplement core instruction while operating on a secure, closed loop. It also illustrates how Renaissance engages with innovative new tech tools with a tempered approach that prioritizes security, with humans in the loop at every stage of the process.

A company culture that uniquely fosters innovation

Renaissance fosters innovation through programs and processes in every corner of the company, ensuring that new tools like AI are used responsibly and that employees have a safe and supportive environment to explore and train on the latest technology.

Efforts include:

• The Renaissance AI Center of Excellence, which combines multiple departments to share new information on policy and ethics, as well as expand AI development, integration, and augmentation.
• The Shark Tank, an annual leadership-sponsored, company-wide innovation competition that invites employees to showcase new ideas.
• AI training, which gives employees opportunities to upskill in the responsible use of generative AI through events like “AI Palooza.”
• The Renaissance AI Governance team, a cross-functional team of privacy, information security, legal, and learning science leaders, including individuals who hold AI Governance Professional certifications by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
• RAIign, an internal tool leveraging generative AI, which automatically maps assessment and instructional content to reading and math skills and state standards, for alignment experts to review.

Welcoming diverse perspectives to drive innovation

Renaissance also continues to build an inclusive workplace culture that empowers all employees to be innovative so that diverse voices and perspectives are reflected. For example, the company actively seeks employee input to shape its benefits packages. This approach has led to comprehensive support benefits, including a generous parental leave policy for both birth and non-birth parents, along with fertility support resources.

“At Renaissance, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives and the impact that is possible when all employees are included in the conversation,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Chief Marketing Officer at Renaissance and executive sponsor of the Women of Renaissance employee resource group (ERG). “Fostering positive employee experiences drives the creativity we need for cutting-edge innovation, so I am especially pleased by our position as a finalist on Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Women Innovators list.”

As a testament to its commitment to inclusivity, Fortune and the Great Place to Work Institute previously recognized the company as a 2023 Best Workplace for Women.

The Fast Company 2024 Best Workplaces for Innovators list ranks 100 winners from a variety of industries. To earn recognition, companies must complete an application addressing questions about projects, investment, company-wide programs, and workplace culture. To see the complete list of honorees, click here.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student.