ETEC 522 – May 2012

K12: Mr. Ron Packard

K12 is the world’s largest online school for kindergarten through grade 12 and has been in operation since 2000. Their mission statement “to provide any child access to exceptional curriculum and tools that enable him or her to maximize his or her success in life, regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstance” says it all. They offer over 200 core courses and many electives in a format, which is fully online yet in a blended learning environment. The K-8 grades have plenty of hands-on materials (CDs, art supplies, classic literature) while the higher grades offer virtual labs and e-books. Courses utilize Flash animation, game simulations, avatars, threaded online discussion groups, video lectures, online debates, and more. Some of the adaptive courses in math and reading intelligently adjust to individual skill and knowledge levels, ensuring that students grasp critical concepts before moving on. Today the company offers 15,000 lessons to more than 55,000 full-time students all over the world.

The current CEO of K12, Ron Packard, is also the founder of the company. He got the idea to launch an online school because his daughter’s kindergarten did not provide enough math instruction and when he tried to purchase a course but could not find one that was specific to his needs. Mr. Packard is well-educated man with a long list of awards, experience, and education in the fields of entrepreneurship and education. He has a BA in economics mechanical engineering (University of California, Berkley), and MBA (University of Chicago) is a chartered financial analyst and a Hughes Scholar. Previous to K12, Mr. Packard was a vice president of Knowledge Universe, and CEO of Knowledge Schools.

K12 performed exceptionally well as a startup company: it generated $6 million in the first year, $36 million the second year, $70 million the third year and currently has revenue of more than $310 million.

There are 8 members of the board of directors, 13 senior management positions. The members on both teams are an impressive group of well-educated, experienced and successful people. As individuals they all have their area of expertise and as a whole they provide the company with support and knowledge in all areas.

When reading about Mr. Packard’s reason for starting the company it made me reflect on what happens when I search for something that I cannot find. I feel that either it doesn’t exist (oh, well) or I haven’t found it yet (keep searching). It never dawns on me to create it. As teachers we are always warned about wasting time “recreating the wheel” but in the age of technology there are many wheels which can still created. He has surrounded himself with experts in the many areas from finance to curriculum development, which, from my point of view makes him a strong leader who trusts his team instead of micromanaging. I doubt that K12 would be as successful if he had his hand in everything.

References

Chicago Booth News. Retrieved from http://www.chicagobooth.edu/news/2008evc/2008-11-14_evc-packard.aspx

K12. http://www.k12.com/educators/home

K12 Image from: http://www.imsglobal.org/images/k12_logo.gif