{"id":5936,"date":"2015-12-09T20:22:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T01:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/curriculum-associates-accelerating-student-learning\/"},"modified":"2015-12-09T20:22:01","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T01:22:01","slug":"curriculum-associates-accelerating-student-learning","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/curriculum-associates-accelerating-student-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Curriculum Associates: Accelerating student learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Company Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Founded in 1969, Curriculum Associates (CA) is an education publishing company that designs, manufactures, and sells reading, math, and special education materials. After nearly 40 years of producing print-based products, the small, privately owned company leapt to prominence with a dramatic shift in its core business. In 2008, CA brought Rob Waldron (HBS \u201992) on as CEO and pursued a \u201cblended learning\u201d strategy, offering school districts a combination of technology and print products that work together to accelerate student learning and help maximize teacher efficiency. Although converting a mature print-based publishing company into a competitive player in the software space represented a daunting challenge, the company\u2019s tightly linked business and operating models have yielded remarkable results.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Business Model<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dedicated to \u201cmaking classrooms better places for teachers and students,\u201d[1] Curriculum Associates creates value by designing and producing high quality, research backed educational tools. Its customers are public, private, and charter school districts serving K-12 students in the United States (the company\u2019s founder and Chairman is also pursuing international opportunities for CA\u2019s products).<\/p>\n<p>Central to the company\u2019s winning strategy is its combination of print and technology-based learning solutions. One example of this approach is its integration of the following two product lines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/laptop.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5887 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i4tsk12in2b2y7uts14c528g-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/laptop-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"laptop\" width=\"313\" height=\"209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/laptop-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/laptop-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/laptop-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 313px) 100vw, 313px\" \/><\/a>i-Ready Diagnostic and Instruction<\/em>: Students begin their <em>i-Ready<\/em> work by completing an adaptive diagnostic assessment. By continually adjusting to students\u2019 responses, the system is able to accurately pinpoint what skills each student has \u2013 and more importantly, has not \u2013 mastered. Upon completion of the diagnostic, teachers and school administrators gain access to a wealth of information about student, class, school, and district performance. At the same time, <em>i-Ready<\/em> also generates a personalized curriculum of automated online lessons that target each student\u2019s unique set of strengths and weaknesses.<\/li>\n<li><em>Ready Common Core<\/em>: Built from the ground up to address the new, more rigorous Common Core educational standards, <em>Ready <\/em>offers teachers high quality instructional tools in a familiar print-based format. Additionally, student reports within <em>i-Ready <\/em>point to specific pages in the <em>Ready <\/em>series that teachers can use to teach students the skills they need to learn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Operating Model<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Expanding from print to software materials was far from being a recipe for guaranteed success. Curriculum Associates succeeded in large part because its operating model supports its business model. Key features of the company\u2019s operating model include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Long term vision &amp; independent ownership<\/em>: Since its inception, Curriculum Associates has been independently owned and operated. Additionally, the company\u2019s CEO signed a 20-year employment contract upon joining, ensuring his focus on CA\u2019s long-term success. According to Waldron, \u201cAt the helm of a company charged with putting students and teachers first, this contract, and the long-term view it requires me to take, guides decisions that deliver on our mission and removes pressures to focus on short-sighted financial gains.\u201d [2] Remaining competitive in today\u2019s constantly shifting educational landscape is challenging; freedom from short-term pressures has been vital to the company\u2019s success.<\/li>\n<li><em>Hiring and retaining top talent<\/em>: Building a business that offers leading blended learning solutions requires a diverse set of talented employees, from psychometricians and educators, to software developers and data scientists. The company made a strategic operational decision to focus significant resources to acquire stellar employees and \u201ctreat them all with grace to ensure they stay.\u201d As a result, CA has won numerous \u201cbest place to work\u201d awards and 97% of its employees report that they would recommend the company to their best friend (a key metric the company uses to measure its success). [3] As a part of this strategy, the CEO noted in 2011 that he had personally met with 800 candidates in the prior two years. [4]<\/li>\n<li><em>Doubling down on growth<\/em>: CA chooses to reinvest nearly all of its earnings back into the business. [5] This investment fuels the company\u2019s continued growth, supporting, among other initiatives, a strong focus on innovative R&amp;D. CA\u2019s sustained commitment to enhancing its product offerings is principally important for two reasons: first, it supports the company\u2019s mission of helping students and teachers succeed (a cause that, as a former employee, I can say with certainty is a real passion for CA\u2019s employees and management team). Second, since the advent of products like <em>i-Ready <\/em>that provide deep data on academic performance and program usage, it has become increasingly easy for educators to determine which educational products are most likely to help their students succeed. In this highly transparent environment, having the most effective products is vital to competitive success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Results<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Curriculum Associates\u2019 revenues have quintupled since it began its transition, jumping from $26 million in 2008 to an estimated $130 million in 2015. [6] With the company\u2019s winning strategy of investing in innovative R&amp;D, attracting and retaining top talent, and maintaining its focus on long term viability, CA is poised for continued success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources Cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.curriculumassociates.com\">www.curriculumassociates.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/\">http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/boston-business-journal-honors-curriculum-associates-as-a-2015-best-places-to-work-winner-300086424.html\">http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/boston-business-journal-honors-curriculum-associates-as-a-2015-best-places-to-work-winner-300086424.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/in-charge\/2011\/04\/28\/how-small-businesses-hire-employees\/\">http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/in-charge\/2011\/04\/28\/how-small-businesses-hire-employees\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/\">http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/\">http:\/\/ww2.cfo.com\/profiles\/2015\/05\/companys-goal-give-profits-to-charity-curriculum\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Additional resources consulted:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.educationbusinessblog.com\/category\/k12-publishing\">http:\/\/www.educationbusinessblog.com\/category\/k12-publishing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.edweek.org\/edweek\/marketplacek12\/2014\/12\/curriculum_associates_chairman_talks_about_giving_his_company_away.html\">http:\/\/blogs.edweek.org\/edweek\/marketplacek12\/2014\/12\/curriculum_associates_chairman_talks_about_giving_his_company_away.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/curriculum-associates-named-a-private-company-of-the-year-finalist-for-18th-annual-technology-leadership-awards-300114591.html\">http:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/curriculum-associates-named-a-private-company-of-the-year-finalist-for-18th-annual-technology-leadership-awards-300114591.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li>4 years of work experience at Curriculum Associates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How a mature print publisher reinvented itself and became an industry leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":743,"featured_media":5947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[73,55,127],"class_list":["post-5936","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-technology","category-winners"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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