The ExploreK12^™ brand is now live, and the launch was just the starting point. As teams across the company turn vision into action, members of the Senior Leadership Team share their perspectives on what comes next, from creating more connected experiences for educators to advancing our mission of helping educators unlock brighter futures for every student.

Our company’s purpose has always been centered on educators, who are being asked to do more than ever. They make hundreds of decisions every day as they manage increased expectations and the responsibility to reach every student.

Teachers and administrators continually evolve to meet their students' needs. Alongside the timeless goals of helping every learner succeed, today’s educators are also supporting a wider range of student needs, implementing evolving research-based instruction, distilling and thoughtfully integrating digital tools, and preparing students with the skills for future careers.

Delivering on our purpose to support educators in the classroom means we need to evolve too — with a more comprehensive and intentional approach.

The launch of ExploreK12 brought together the strengths of ExploreLearning^® and Learning A‑Z^® under a shared purpose and vision. Now, our focus shifts to what that means for educators, students, and employees as we continue building a more connected experience across literacy, math, and science.

One story, stronger impact

Launching the ExploreK12 brand was an important milestone, but the real opportunity lies in what comes next. Every day, teams across the organization are working to turn our vision into reality — creating more connected experiences, reducing complexity for educators, and helping students build the skills they need to succeed.

We have the opportunity to amplify our impact by helping educators strengthen the skills that matter most for student success. Foundational abilities in literacy, math, and science are strong indicators of long-term outcomes, with international research linking proficiency in these areas to higher educational attainment, workforce readiness, and future economic opportunity (OECD, PISA 2022 Results). Yet many students fall short of these critical milestones, from early phonemic awareness, which predicts reading success, to math fact fluency and fraction knowledge tied to assessment performance, to overall readiness for college-level STEM coursework.

ExploreK12 is positioned to deliver practical, effective, and joyful learning experiences to help educators address these areas early on.

Discover ExploreK12 Solutions

And while much has been accomplished already, we're still in the early chapters of this journey. The work ahead is focused on making our solutions more connected, intuitive, and impactful for the educators we serve.

Listening to educators first

As we began bringing these two organizations together, we started with the classroom experience, focusing on what is most needed.

We listened carefully to educators — through formal research and important educator conversations in the classroom and district offices. That means staying close to classrooms and making sure what we build reflects what teachers are actually experiencing, not what we assume they need.

That commitment continues today. As ExploreK12 evolves, educator feedback remains central to how we prioritize opportunities to support them in the classroom, refine experiences, and shape what comes next.

This work isn’t new to ExploreK12.

“Both Explore Learning and Learning A-Z have a strong history of connecting with customers and bringing them into the design process. As ExploreK12, we continue that legacy by working directly with over 900 educators who provide feedback and help us improve our solutions as we are bringing them together into one ecosystem.”
— Seija Surr, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy

This alignment between educator needs and organizational clarity grounds us and sets the direction of the new ExploreK12.

Four pillars to keep us on track

We gathered extensive input from educators, and what we heard shaped the four pillars that guide us.

• For Educators — Resources that support educators, so they can focus on their teaching in the classroom and help students succeed
• Practical — Tools that simplify educators’ days, reducing complexity and saving time
• Effective — Solutions grounded in research that drive student progress and deliver lasting impact
• Joyful — Experiences that foster confidence and a love of learning in school and beyond

Each pillar is powerful on its own, but together, they form the foundation of our unified organization. They guide how we show up for educators — and how we build solutions for them that deliver greater impact.

“Our four core pillars — for educators, practical, effective, joyful. They’re not elements you tackle one at a time — they come together to drive what we do every day. The new ExploreK12 represents all of the strengths we bring together from our legacy organizations, built on years of experience serving educators and students.”
— Tammy Weisman, Vice President, Marketing

While the brand launch introduced these pillars to the world, their true value comes from how they guide our decisions every day.

Pillar 1 — For educators: Because they have the greatest opportunity for impact

Our ultimate goal is to develop solutions that support teachers in the realities of their classrooms, so they can focus on what matters most: helping their students succeed.

“Both ExploreLearning and Learning A-Z had, at their heart, a similarity — they’ve been very teacher-led. They’ve had a history of teachers being their champions, starting small and expanding because we always aim to help teachers do their job better.”
— David Rudel, VP, Data and Analytics

“As ExploreK12, we truly want to partner with educators to help them support their students as they’re learning — and we aim to show that in every aspect of our business, from how we design new resources and gather educator feedback to how we provide professional learning that helps teachers use our solutions with confidence.”
— Laura Chervenak, Vice President, Customer Success

As we look ahead, our greatest opportunity is to help educators spend less time navigating tools and more time helping students learn.

This is our first and central pillar — and everything we do is with teachers in mind.

A legacy that continues

At ExploreK12, being educator-centered is a part of who we've always been.

"From the beginning, our goal was to create programs that would genuinely move the needle for students and empower educators to do their best work. ExploreK12 carries that same commitment forward."
— David Shuster, Senior Advisor, Innovation, and Founder of ExploreLearning

Pillar 2 — Practical: Because teachers need simplified and empowering support

Teaching is already complex.

The tools we provide should simplify that experience and make teachers' days easier.

At ExploreK12, practical solutions start with respect for educators’ time. We’re focused on reducing unnecessary complexity and making solutions easy to implement in their classroom routines so they can focus on what they love — teaching.

When solutions are practical, powerful things happen:

• Less time spent searching for resources or managing tools and more time focused on instruction and student support
• Faster adoption across classrooms, schools, and districts with teachers and education leaders seeing measurable progress toward shared goals
• Better data to increase confidence to guide decisions and make it easier to serve more students across more settings
• More students getting what they need in the classroom to feel the joy of learning and success

“Teachers are inundated with tools, and as ExploreK12, we have a real opportunity to bring our most effective, beloved solutions into one ecosystem — reducing decisions, simplifying their day, and helping to make a real impact for students.”
— Kari Fines, Vice President, Operations

This vision extends beyond simplifying individual solutions. Over time, we're working toward a more connected ExploreK12 experience — one that helps educators access the tools, insights, and resources they need with less friction and greater efficiency.

When tools are easy to use and work well together, educators are more likely to use them consistently and create meaningful, lasting impact.

Pillar 3 — Effective: Because outcomes matter

Practicality only matters if it works.

“Every decision we make should come back to a simple question: Is it making things better for the educator and the students? From an engineering perspective, that means listening closely, removing friction, and making sure what we build is simple and reliable. When the technology just works, educators can focus on teaching, and students can stay engaged in learning.”
— Eron Cummings, Vice President, Engineering

For us, effectiveness comes down to whether we’re driving real progress for students — consistently across classrooms, schools, and districts.

“From a financial perspective, this is about helping schools get more value from the resources they already have — making it easier to invest in solutions that support teachers and drive better outcomes for students.”
— Joe Mahon, Vice President of Finance

This commitment to effectiveness reflects how we’re combining proven research, classroom insight, and thoughtful design to strengthen learning outcomes across subjects and grade levels at scale.

As the educational landscape continues to evolve, effectiveness remains our north star.

Pillar 4 — Joyful: Because it drives learning

Joy doesn’t compete with rigor. It fuels it. It’s an essential ingredient for students to engage and become active participants in their own learning.

Teachers want their students to love learning. They want to see eyes light up when they master a new skill. They want to hear students laugh during a shared discovery. They want to feel the energy that comes when everyone in the room is curious and connected.

Teachers want this level of engagement because they know it is key to building hope and confidence in their students. With joyful learning solutions, students are more engaged and begin to see themselves as capable, growing learners. That momentum carries into deeper and stronger learning outcomes.

“Each day, often multiple times a day, our customer-facing teams connect with passionate educators who are helping students succeed. There is something joyful about supporting teachers and seeing the curiosity, excitement, and confidence learning can inspire. ExploreK12 reflects that belief — that learning should be both joyful and impactful — and I am proud to be part of this work.”
— Jeffrey Vincent, Senior Vice President, Sales

Looking ahead, we see an opportunity to bring even more engaging, motivating, and student-centered experiences to classrooms while maintaining the instructional rigor educators expect from ExploreK12 solutions.

When teaching and learning spark joy and lead to growth that is both felt and seen, students and teachers are energized to tackle new challenges and achieve even greater outcomes. For joy to happen, teachers need resources that are effective not only in their methodology and instructional approach but also in their ability to bring learning to life in relevant and personal ways for all students.

Building the future of ExploreK12

Building a unified ExploreK12 from two separate companies is made possible by our teams, who represent the work we do for educators and students. I can’t thank them enough for the work they’ve done — and continue to do — to bring ExploreK12 to life.

As I think about what comes next, I keep coming back to our purpose: supporting educators as they make hundreds of decisions each day for their students.

As ExploreK12, we have the opportunity and responsibility to show up for educators in ways that truly matter. By staying grounded in classrooms and delivering solutions that reflect our pillars — for educators, practical, effective, and joyful — we can make a greater impact where it counts.

The launch of ExploreK12 created a shared foundation. Now we're focused on building on that foundation — connecting experiences, simplifying workflows, strengthening outcomes, and continuing to innovate alongside educators.

Our goal isn't simply to bring solutions together. It's to create a more connected ecosystem that helps educators spend less time managing resources and more time helping students succeed.

Learn More About ExploreK12

Resource:

OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en.

About the Voices series

Voices is a storytelling series that highlights the people, perspectives, and experiences shaping ExploreK12. From employees and leaders to educators and classroom insights, each article explores how we're advancing our mission, supporting learning, and creating meaningful impact. Through these stories, we celebrate the ideas, partnerships, and innovation that bring the ExploreK12 vision to life.