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Connections Academy
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Connections Academy is a division of Connections Education LLC, a private school based in Baltimore, MD that contracts with charter schools, school districts, or governmental entities to provide "online" lessons to students.[1]
Sylvan Ventures started Connections Academy in 2001. The company started its first schools in 2001, and in 2004, Connections Academy was sold to Apollo Management, L.P.,[1] a corporate investor specializing in real estate.[2] In 2011, Pearson Education acquired Connections Education.[1] The website states that: "The company now operates tuition-free public schools under management contracts from charter schools or school districts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In Spring 2009, Connections Academy opened a private school, National Connections Academy, that is available everywhere."[1]
There is also another off-shoot called "Connections Learning" that provides online education in the US and abroad.[1]
Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Connections Academy has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Mickey Revenaugh, Conections Academy co-founder and Senior Vice President of State Relations, was the co-chair of ALEC's Education Task Force as of May 2012.[3][4][5] In July 2012, a Connections spokesperson told the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) that it had cut ties with ALEC in order to align "our affiliations with organizations whose central focus is education."[6] See Corporations Which Have Cut Ties to ALEC and ALEC Corporations for more.
| About ALEC |
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ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.
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Revenue
Apollo Management L.P. owns Connections Academy and Connections Education.
2010[7]
Total Revenues: $2.1 billion
Net Income: $94.6 million
Gross Profit: $166.5 million
2009[8]
Total Revenues: $966.7 million
Net Income: $-155.2 million
Gross Profit: $-528.3 million
2008[9]
Total Revenues: $-266.7 million
Net Income: $-912.3 million
Gross Profit: $-1.1 billion
Leadership
- Barbara Dreyer - President and CEO
- Dr. Steven Guttentag - Executive Vice President and Chief Education Officer
- Susan Fancher - Senior Vice President, Marketing
- Earl W. Grier, Jr. - Vice President of Schools
- Marc Guerrasio - Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
- Dr. Patricia Hoge - Vice President, Curriculum and Instruction
- Monte Kalisch - Vice President, Development
- Yvonne Kisiel - Senior Vice President and General Counsel
- Pat Laystrom - Vice President, State Relations
- Ted Ochs - Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
- Mickey Revenaugh - Senior Vice President, State Relations
- Peter Robertson - Vice President of Schools
- David Schmidt - Vice President, Business Development
- Susan Stagner - Vice President of Schools
- Deane Turner - Senior Vice President, Operations
Lobbying Controversies
The left-wing "Our Oregon" reported in 2011 that freshman Oregon State Rep. Matt Wingard (R-Wilsonville), a vocal advocate of online schools and Connections Academy in particular, was actually on the payroll of Connections Academy. [10] It also noted that the President of Oregon Connections Academy is Jeff Kropf, former state legislator and current state director of the Koch-funded [Americans for Prosperity]].
Contact
1001 Fleet Street, 5th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
888-440-2890
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
External resources
External articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Connections Academy About Us, company website, accessed June 15, 2011
- ↑ Dun & Bradstreet, "Apollo Management, L.P. Report," online business credit report, prepared June 15, 2011
- ↑ Connections Academy, Mickey Revenaugh bio, Connections Academy website, accessed July 8, 2011
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, Education Task Force, organizational website, accessed July 8, 2011
- ↑ American Legislative Exchange Council, Education Task Force Meeting Agenda, organizational agenda, May 11, 2012, document obtained and released by Common Cause
- ↑ Rebekah Wilce, EnergySolutions and Connections Education are 27th and 28th Corporations to Leave ALEC, PRWatch.org, July 20, 2012
- ↑ Apollo Global Management,"Bloomberg BusinessWeek"
- ↑ Apollo Global Management,"Bloomberg BusinessWeek"
- ↑ Apollo Global Management,"Bloomberg BusinessWeek"
- ↑ Scott Moore, Matt Wingard’s Plan to Line His Pockets with Your Tax Dollars, Our Oregon, accessed July 8, 2011.
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