Stride

Founded in 2000 as K12 Inc., Stride Inc. is an EMO that provides K-12 online education. It offers its online curriculum at three levels: to states and districts as a homeschooling alternative to brick-and-mortar schools; to school districts as a supplement to classroom teaching; and to parents individually as a private, online, homeschooling alternative. The company also operates three tuition-based online private schools. During the 2018-2019 school year, Stride Inc. provided its managed public school programs to 75 schools across the US.

Traditionally focusing on K-12 educational programs, Stride Inc. has also moved into the adult (professional skills) education space providing career readiness education. This is accomplished through its Destinations Career Academies and through Galvanize, a company that develops capabilities for individuals and corporations in technical fields such as software engineering and data science, which it acquired in January 2020. The company’s portfolio also includes Tallo, an app that connects students and professionals with scholarships, post-secondary institutions, and companies, and Nepris, a cloud-based platform that allows educators to connect with industry professionals willing to share their skills and knowledge with students. The company launched K12 Learning Solutions, a consulting service for school districts, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In December 2020, the company changed its corporate name to Stride, Inc. to reflect its continued expansion beyond the K-12 market into the adult lifelong learning market. The company also expanded its portfolio of lifelong learning offerings through the acquisitions of Tech Elevator and MedCerts. The acquisition of Tech Elevator complements the IT-focused curriculum provided by Galvanize, while the acquisition of MedCerts marks the company’s entry into the healthcare education market.

In February 2021, the company selected the cohort of its multi-year We Stand Together scholarship. With a USD 10 million investment, the scholarships are part of a series of initiatives to support racial and socioeconomic inclusion in education and provide more education options to underserved communities. Scholarship recipients will receive tuition-free, full-time enrollment at Stride’s K12 Private Academy or higher education scholarships. Further, in April 2021, the company partnered with the National Association of Black Male Educators (NABME) to increase the number of Black teachers it employs and to equip current teachers with tools to facilitate inclusive classrooms online and physically. In February 2023, Stride and Never Whisper Justice's partnership expanded the curriculum and content options available to students from all backgrounds and walks of life by enabling teachers to incorporate digital media in their teaching and promote important discussions regarding racial fairness and social justice.

Key customers and partnerships

Among the company’s partnerships is one with 7 Mindsets, a social emotional learning (SEL) solutions provider, to provide SEL courses and curriculums, leadership training, and teacher professional development for all Stride schools. In January 2021, Stride partnered with 21K School, India’s first online school, to offer its own curriculums as well as those of one of its accredited partners, The Keystone School, beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year. In March 2021, Stride partnered with MetaMetrics, an educational measurement and research organization, to provide Stride teachers with premium membership access to MetaMetrics’ Lexile & Quantile Hubs containing tools and resources to provide personalized instruction. In August 2022, the firm partnered with education solution provider FaithPrep Academy, to offer a faith-based online learning education focused on Christian character-building for K-12 students.

Funding and financials

For FY2022 ending June 2022, the company reported revenue growth of 9.8% YoY to USD 1.69 billion. This was mainly driven by the growth in the career learning segment, which accounted for ~25% of total revenue and reported a growth of 60.9% YoY. Stride’s gross margin remained broadly unchanged from the previous year at 35.4% in FY2022. Income from operations increased by 41.8% YoY to USD 156.6 million, and the company reported an adjusted EBITDA of USD 273.1 million (up 13.8% YoY). On the back of robust Q3 2023 performance, Stride revised its revenue target for FY2023 to range from USD 1.805 billion–USD 1.825 billion, with an expected adjusted operating income in the range of USD 193 million–USD 200 million.