Interactive learning software

Critical thinking for every young mind

Manière, LLC is an early-stage education-technology venture based in Carlsbad, California. We are designing interactive software that helps young people build the strategic and critical-thinking skills that open doors — starting with the students who have the least access to them.

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Help shape Manière from the start

We are in the earliest stages of building. If you are an educator, district leader, parent, or partner interested in co-designing or following our progress, we would love to hear from you.

Carlsbad, California

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About Manière

The mission

As a brand-new venture, we are focused on closing the opportunity gap by putting engaging learning tools within reach of the classrooms and communities that need them most.

The approach

We are in the early days of transforming rigorous problem-solving into thoughtfully designed learning experiences. Our first software prototypes meet learners where they are and grow with them; building focus, reasoning, and confidence that last far beyond the screen.

From the chessboard to the classroom

Our first community partner

Community HousingWorks

The summer before her senior year of high school, Deeana Dawson hosted a chess club for underserved youth at a community center in Vista, California. She watched students light up as they calculated moves, solved problems, and out-thought opponents. That is where the idea for Manière began.

This summer, we returned to that same community center to begin early-stage testing of Manière's first educational software. We are just getting started: our goal is to take the focus, reasoning, and confidence those students found at the chess board and turn it into interactive learning tools they can carry into the classroom and beyond.

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The Manière

Three ways we build thinkers

Game-based by design

We turn rigorous problem-solving into games kids actually want to play, then put them to the test later on to sharpen fast.

Built for equity

We design with the students and community centers most systems overlook, so the best thinking tools reach the kids usually left out.

Growth you can see

Progress signals are built into the product from day one, so students, mentors, and educators watch reasoning skills climb instead of guessing.

Castle the King

A taste of what we're building — a one-minute, tap-to-learn intro to castling, the first chess move that keeps your King safe. Give it a try.

👑

Castle the King!

Learn the special move that keeps your King safe — in one minute.

⭐Short castle

⭐Long castle

👋Tap the glowing King to begin!

The dream team

♚

The King

Slow and precious. He can only step one square at a time, so he needs protection.

♜

The Rook

Strong and brave. Castling is his one chance to leap over the King and guard him.

When they team up, the King gets a cozy little castle wall. 🧱

Before you castle

3 quick things to check

1

Nobody moved yet

The King and that Rook must both be on their starting home squares.

2

The path is clear

No pieces standing between the King and the Rook — they need room to swap.

3

The King is safe

He can't castle out of danger, or walk through a square an enemy is attacking.

Why do it?

Castling tucks your King into a corner behind his pawns and springs the Rook into the game. Safety and teamwork in a single move!

👑🏰

You did it!

You learned both ways to castle — the short castle and the long castle.

Deeana Dawson

Deeana founded Manière, LLC while studying Economics at the University of Southern California. The idea took shape the summer before her senior year of high school, when she hosted a chess club for underserved youth at a community center in Vista, California. She saw students grow more focused, confident, and strategic in just a few weeks and realized that the right learning tools could reach far more.

Her background in market research, investment analysis, and business analytics helps her approach Manière with both curiosity and discipline. She is currently focused on early-stage product testing and building partnerships with the educators and community organizations who will help shape the platform from the ground up.