simSchool is a web-based virtual classroom environment populated with "simStudents." simStudents have artificial emotional intelligence. They smile, cry, become frustrated, raise their hands, seek attention, and show signs of stress. They respond in very individual ways to tasks assigned, tone of voice used, and to classroom management strategies employed.

Grounded in established theories of cognition, emotion, social behavior, and more, simSchool provides users authentic experience and vetted through a decade of continuous research, field testing, and clinical practice

The characters are virtual, but the learning is very real.

In 1998, longtime public school educator (and now Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) Don Shalvey joined forces with Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Netflix founder Reed Hastings to launch Aspire Public Schools, one of the nation’s first charter management organizations. The mission Don and Reed set out to achieve was simple and straightforward, and it remains the same to this day: open and operate small, high-quality, college-prep charter schools in low-income neighborhoods.

Aspire now has 36 community-based schools serving over 15,200 students in California. Our schools range from TK through 12th grade, and College For Certain is the focus for every age group. Teachers and parents partner closely to ensure students are prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.