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| Company type | For-profit |
|---|---|
| Industry | education management organization |
| Founded | 2001; 25 years ago (2001) |
| Founder | Barbara Dreyer |
| Headquarters | 10960 Grantchester Way, |
| Parent | Pearson Education |
| Website | www |
Connections Academy is a for-profit corporate provider of online school products and services to virtual schools for gradesK-12, including full-time online school. In theUnited States the company is noted as Connections Academy, and for students abroad it is known as International Connections Academy.[1] Based inColumbia, Maryland,[2] Connections Academy is part ofPearson's Online and Blended Learning K-12 group. Online schools are an alternative to traditional public schools.[3] Similar to charter schools, they aresubsidized by the state. Although they contract with manynon-profit schools, they are a for-profit corporation.[4]
In the spring of 2001, Sylvan Ventures started a separate business unit to create a virtual school program with its first virtual schools in Wisconsin and Colorado.[5] The company first began providing online school services to two schools in the fall of 2002. In September 2004, Connections Academy was sold to an investor group led byApollo Management, L.P. The company now operates public schools under management contracts from charter schools or school districts.
A new corporate entity called Connections Education was established in early 2011.[6] In this same year, on September 15, 2011,Pearson, an international learning company, acquired Connections Education for more than $400 million.[7]
Connections Education is currently Pearson's Online & Blended Learning division, which delivers the Connections Academy online public school program and other online learning services called Pearson Connexus to educational institutions and other organizations nationwide. A private online school called International Connections Academy serves students across the globe. In 2019 it was announced that UK-basedHarrow school would deliver an online education option leveraging Pearson Connexus.[8]
| Pearson School |
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|---|---|
| Pearson Higher Education | |
| Pearson Professional |
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| Other | |
| Former/defunct companies | |
