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Why Now
Online risks are evolving quickly while schools and community organizations are stretched thinner than ever. Badgie Academy was built to close that gap, now, while it's most needed.
Founding Partner Program — First 10 Partners
Free Digital Safety Education — Ready to Teach Today
Badgie Academy is a free cybersecurity and digital-literacy curriculum — 32 live modules, 160 lessons for grades K–8, with high school in development — built for schools, libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, and homeschool groups. No student accounts. No installation. No personal data collection.
Why Badgie Academy
A timely answer to a growing gap.
Kids are spending more time online, at younger ages, with fewer safeguards than ever — and most schools and community organizations want to help but lack the time, budget, or expertise to build a curriculum themselves.
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Why Digital Safety
Recognizing a scam, protecting personal information, and thinking critically before clicking or sharing are basic life skills — the digital equivalent of looking both ways before crossing the street.
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Why AI Literacy
As AI-powered tools become part of how kids learn and communicate, understanding how they work — and their limits — is becoming part of digital literacy itself.
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Why Privacy-First
No school, library, or family should have to weigh impact against privacy risk. Badgie Academy collects no names, emails, or personal information — ever — and stores only anonymous, non-identifying progress data so that question never has to be asked.
Current Scope
A complete curriculum, ready today.
Nothing here is a prototype or a future promise — this is what's ready to teach right now.
32
Live Modules
160
Lessons
800
Lesson-Check Questions
Privacy-First Design
Nothing to set up. Nothing to protect.
Privacy isn't a feature we added — it's the foundation everything else was built on.
Built In From Day One
- No student accounts — nothing to create, manage, or reset.
- No installation — everything runs in the browser, on devices you already have.
- No personal data collection — no names, emails, or contact information are gathered, stored, or shared about the kids in your program. Optional progress tracking stores only anonymous, non-identifying data.
Why It Matters
For schools, libraries, and youth organizations, this removes much of the data-governance friction that often slows down or prevents adoption of new educational tools — especially for organizations with limited IT support.
Full details on our privacy approach are documented in the Trust Center.
Founding Partner Benefits
Why become a Founding Partner?
Founding Partners get more than free access — they help shape what Badgie Academy becomes.
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Free, Full Access
The full live curriculum — 32 modules, 160 lessons, 800 questions for grades K–8, with high school in development — for your pilot and beyond.
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No Setup Burden
No accounts to create, nothing to install, nothing for IT to review.
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Privacy You Can Stand Behind
No collection of names, emails, or personal information, ever — fully documented in our Trust Center.
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A Direct Say in What's Next
Founding Partner feedback shapes future modules and features.
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Recognition as an Early Leader
Founding Partner status, website recognition, and a formal letter of appreciation.
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Family Engagement Built In
Every module includes a letter home, extending the impact beyond your walls.
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Zero Financial Commitment
No cost, ever, for Founding Partners — now or after the pilot ends.
Pilot Overview
A simple, low-effort pilot.
Becoming a Founding Partner starts with a 6–8 week pilot — a defined, manageable commitment with a clear start and end.
6–8
Weeks
A defined pilot period with a clear start and end date.
0
Accounts or Installs
Nothing to create, manage, or set up — runs in any browser.
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Personal Data Collected
No names, emails, or contact information are gathered, stored, or shared about your students.
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Lesson Per Week
A manageable pace that fits an existing schedule, with materials ready to go.
Two short feedback conversations — one near the start, one at the end — are the entire commitment beyond teaching the lessons.
Founder
A father, a parent advocate, and a security professional.
MR
Founder photo placeholder
Montell Ricks
Founder, Badgie Academy
"I'm a father of three. After earning my CompTIA Security+ and Google Cybersecurity Professional certifications, I realized something: everything I was learning about online risks — phishing, scams, oversharing — applied directly to my own kids, who were online every day with no education to prepare them for it.
I looked around and found the same story everywhere: schools, libraries, and community programs all wanted to help, but didn't have the time or resources to build a curriculum themselves. So I built one — free, ready to teach, and designed from the ground up so no student data is ever collected."
“Digital safety shouldn't depend on a school's budget. Every kid deserves the same foundation, regardless of where they live or learn.”
Recognition Program
Founding Partners are remembered.
Badgie Academy is launching with an open invitation to the first 10 organizations — across schools, libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, and homeschool groups — to join as Founding Partners.
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Founding Partner Certificate
A digital, printable certificate recognizing your organization as one of the first 10 Founding Partners — suitable for display in a classroom, office, or community space.
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Website Listing
With permission, your organization's name (and logo, if desired) is featured on Badgie Academy's Founding Partners page — a lasting record of early supporters.
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Letter of Appreciation
A formal letter addressed to your leadership — suitable for sharing with boards, staff, or funders as evidence of community impact.
What does it cost?
Nothing. The pilot is completely free, and Founding Partners retain free access afterward as well.
Is student data collected?
No personal student data — no names, emails, or contact details, and students hold no accounts. Learning progress (lessons completed, points, badges) is stored against a random code, and any text a student types into a build reflection is stored as typed. Teacher and parent accounts store an email address and a hashed password. See the Privacy Policy.
How much time does this require?
About one lesson per week, plus two short feedback conversations — one at the start of the pilot and one at the end.
Do leaders need a cybersecurity background?
No. All lessons are self-contained and ready to teach, with a teacher preview mode so leaders can review material in advance.
What grade levels are supported?
The 32 live modules span grades K–8 (elementary and middle school). High school modules are in development and review-gated, not yet live.
Can parents or families be involved?
Yes — every module includes a letter for families to continue the conversation at home.
How long is the pilot?
6–8 weeks, with a clear start and end date and no obligation to continue afterward.
Is this only for schools?
No. Badgie Academy is designed to work equally well in libraries, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, churches, and homeschool co-ops.