Educator Edtech Review: nXu

nXu logo
(Image credit: nXu)

nXu is a nonprofit provider of research-based and purpose-driven social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum experiences for youth through adult learners. nXu helps educators lead students through a unique set of lessons to explore what they enjoy, as well as shape their strength and values to help them find their purpose.

nXu: Getting Started

nXu’s programs are very comprehensive, with a curriculum designed to help both students and instructors gain the best possible outcomes.

Once you partner with nXu, you will start a three-step onboarding process, which consists of selection of use cases, guidance on how to best implement their curriculum, decisions of the scope and sequence, and logistics and scheduling. These steps will guide deeper conversations aimed at having the best chances of success.

Below are examples of the scope nXu offers. Lessons range from 25 minutes to 50-60 minutes. Mini lessons that can be included at the beginning or other times of the school year are also available.


Middle School Curriculum Scope

Theme 1 - Forming Community

A: Building Healthy Relationships

B: Listening to Ourselves

Theme 2 - Valuing Diversity

C: Exploring Who We Are

D: Celebrating our Differences

Theme 3 - Envisioning the Future

E: Understanding Purpose

F: Shaping My Path


High School Curriculum Scope

Theme 1 - Navigating New Communities

1: Connecting with Others

2: Investing in Myself

Theme 2 - Finding My Voice

3: My Role in the Community

4: Investing in My Community

Theme 3 - Charting a Post-Secondary Path

5: From Purpose to Career

6: Investing in My Career

Theme 4 - Preparing for What’s Next

7: Sharing My Purpose

8: Investing in My Future


nXu: Best Features

  • I enjoyed the holistic approach nXu takes using the five key developmental areas—purpose, identity, social-emotional wellness, social capital, and career exploration. This approach provides the tools to receive a well-rounded learning experience.
  • The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) aligned curriculum covers sense of belonging, purpose exploration, social-emotional skills, and career pathways.
  • nXu provides quality in-person or virtual training for new users that consist of two five-hour sessions. It also offers ongoing guidance, via the optional Impact Coaching or professional development workshops, for me to continue to deliver content effectively after the initial training.
  • I like their research-based assessment system survey that captures progress in key areas during the program and provides teachers with valuable data feedback in a variety of key indicators.

nXu: Pricing

Educators interested in the costs of implementing the curriculum need to reach out to nXu directly for details.

nXu: Key Takeaways

nXu addresses the needs of students at different stages of development who have an evolving sense of self. Through their research and partnerships they do a very comprehensive job of providing content and strategies to address this evolution.

They help both young students and adults find and connect with purpose and growth in order to strive in their personal lives. They concentrate on an integrative approach to find this purpose and a career path while developing socially and emotionally,

nXu’s CASEL-aligned SEL solution would fit into any school’s curricular and extracurricular goals because it is both comprehensive and flexible. The nXu team provides teachers with the support and guidance they need to succeed and an assessment system that gives them the data they need to track student progress.

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Frank Pileiro is the former Supervisor of Technology & Data for the Linwood Public Schools in Linwood, NJ.  He speaks at the local, state, and national levels about empathy, educational innovation, and instructional technology.