Spotlight on Manpreet
Manpreet Sarkaria | Senior VP, K-12 & Public Sector
As part of our Spotlight series, we catch up with leaders, doers, and inspiring employees of LearningMate to see the personalities behind the work. We ask them a few questions about what they do, what excites them, and to learn how they've grown in their careers. Below is part of our chat with Manpreet...
What drew you to LearningMate?
The company's impact is a huge draw. For example, our work with Michigan (MiDataHub), delivering proven results and ROI over a decade, makes for a compelling story. Similarly, LearningMate's work with the largest charter schools in the country, including Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) in Pennsylvania, is a testament to the difference we can make and are making every day.
LearningMate is also unique because we serve a wide range of clients across early learning, K-12, and higher education. Leveraging our experience and capabilities across all educational markets creates new opportunities that other organizations cannot see.
What excites you about the future of LeaningMate, particularly in your field?
LearningMate’s broad capabilities and solutions make for an exciting future. Take our work with states, for example. Our core data solutions team is known for expertly solving complex data challenges, but we’re not limited to that. AI has opened up a new realm of possibilities in which we are actively engaged.
State agencies are just beginning to explore AI and figure out how to use it effectively. AI in education is becoming increasingly crowded, but with the Kadal platform and our data science teams at Gramener, LearningMate is leading the race. We’re building some exciting AI applications for the public sector, which expands our offerings and gives us even more ways to support states.
What’s the most important problem right now in your field?
A major challenge that states face is the lack of unified data systems. Many state agencies work in silos, which makes it difficult for data to truly reflect what’s happening across education at a state level. For example, Early Learning and K-12 departments are often housed in different state agencies, and their data metrics are rarely connected.
There is a critical need for end-to-end systems that demonstrate a continuity of learning outcomes from Early Learning through K-12 and Higher Education. Early Learning programs require substantial government funding, but their long-term success often isn’t evident until students are well into the K-12 system. States need solid data to track long-term outcomes and ROI to maintain funding.
Building integrated, end-to-end data systems allows states to assess combined outcomes and ROI across the entire education spectrum—from Early Learning to higher education. This level of visibility is crucial for making informed policy and funding decisions.
A key part of our work at LearningMate is informing our LEA and SEA partners on how to drive policy changes needed to create these unified data systems.
If you could speak to your younger self, what would you say?
When you work hard, good things fall into place. If I could tell my younger self one thing, it would be to believe in yourself, trust in your hard work, and know that anything is possible.