Imagine Learning, the largest provider of digital curriculum solutions in the US, has recently announced its acquisition of Winsor Learning, the nation’s leading expert and provider of science-based reading instruction and teacher training.
However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With this acquisition, Imagine Learning aims to digitize Winsor Learning’s largely print-based materials and build a suite of offerings around them to create Imagine Ascend, a new comprehensive solution for special education students that combines digital courseware with highly qualified virtual instructors. Imagine Ascend provides districts with a sustainable solution for staffing shortages and a scalable approach to increasing graduation rates, both critical needs of special education programs. The Imagine Ascend portfolio of curricula and services will support learners with accommodating instruction and help educators serve students with disabilities.
Commenting on the acquisition, Chairman & CEO of Imagine Learning, Jonathan Grayer, said:
This is a seminal moment for Imagine Learning as we commit significant time and resources to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students. The acquisition of Winsor Learning and the launch of Imagine Ascend establishes Imagine Learning at the forefront of innovative curriculum delivery for more than seven million students with disabilities. We’ve seen first-hand the impact of pandemic-driven learning loss. We have heard directly from our education partners that they require specialized curricula to address the needs of students with disabilities who have been disproportionately impacted. We take the responsibility to deliver interventions for these learners seriously, and our commitment remains constant: to ignite learning breakthroughs, partner with schools and teachers, support families, and have improved outcomes for every learner.
Grayer further added:
We are especially excited to welcome the Winsor Learning team to Imagine Learning. Winsor will be a critical growth engine for us as we build our Imagine Ascend portfolio. We believe there is significant opportunity to expand Winsor’s product set across our footprint as we create digital supplements to complement their existing offerings.
Started in November 2021, Imagine Learning, formerly known as Weld North Education, is a PreK–12 digital learning solutions company that ignites Learning breakthroughs by designing forward-thinking solutions at the intersection of people, curricula, and technology to drive student growth. The platform currently serves more than 15 million students and partners with more than half the school districts nationwide. Its flagship products include Imagine Edgenuity, online courseware and virtual school services solutions; supplemental and intervention solutions for literacy, language, mathematics, robotics, and coding; high-quality, digital-first core curriculum; and more.
The company believes that the power of every learner’s unique potential drives them to create interactive, dynamic curricula that can adapt to meet each student where they are. Setting high expectations for students helps them learn and achieve more.
Chief Executive Officer of Winsor Learning, Amanda Burnette, commented:
Winsor was created more than 25 years ago to offer students with reading challenges the tailored solutions they need to be successful learners. Today’s announcement is the next step in our history and will accelerate our commitment to serving more students across the country. We are thrilled to join a team who shares our philosophy and has the incredible reputation and respect that Imagine Learning holds in the education space. We look forward to many more years serving the students, teachers, and school districts who need us most.
Founded in 1997, Minnesota-based Winsor Learning offers a portfolio of products and services focused on literacy intervention for dyslexic and at-risk students using the Orton-Gillingham approach and a supplemental whole-class literacy curriculum for grades K-5. Its innovative Sonday System® is a comprehensive line of structured literacy materials that enable multi-sensory reading instruction for Pre-K – 12 students. It is used in approximately 4,000 school districts in all 50 states.
According to Grayer, the need for intervention and supplemental literacy tools for foundational reading skills is rapidly growing as schools seek to implement curricula based on the science of reading. With pandemic-driven learning loss generating skyrocketing needs for effective reading interventions and states implementing new literacy and dyslexia legislation across the country.
In 2021, Imagine Learning had acquired the Irish company Robotify, a digital curriculum startup focused on teaching coding through virtual robotics simulations. The merger added an elective curriculum and “gamified” science content to the platform.
