Marco Learning Acquires The Graide Network to Build Comprehensive Support System for Schools
WRIGHTSTOWN, N.J., March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco Learning, a leading provider of teacher professional development and AP® exam preparation, has acquired The Graide Network, a Chicago-based education technology company. Founded by Blair Pircon and Liz Nell in 2016, The Graide Network built an award-winning model for highly effective, formative feedback on student writing from expert human readers at scale.
"This acquisition allows us to support schools, teachers, and students better than ever before," said John Moscatiello, Founder and CEO of Marco Learning. "As an active teacher myself, I know how overwhelming it has been for my colleagues and our students. I am so excited that we can support all of them as they transition from pandemic schooling and offer a better path forward for students and teachers in the coming year."
The partnership between the two companies began in early 2020, when the companies joined forces to offer AP® Student Support, a resource for students preparing for AP Exams featuring live-online classes, practice tests, and detailed feedback on free-response essays. The combined company now supports thousands of teachers and students through low-cost test preparation and professional development resources and provides feedback to more than 60,000 students through school-based contracts.
Blair Pircon, Co-founder and CEO of The Graide Network says, "Effective feedback is one powerful learning driver and was our core focus at The Graide Network. But students and teachers need more—high quality materials, structures to practice and assess learning, direct instruction, and quality mentoring. Combining our nationwide pool of talented graders with Marco Learning's suite of high-quality digital content and live instruction provides an unparalleled support system for student and teacher success." Pircon and her co-founder Liz Nell will join Marco Learning as CFO and COO, respectively.
The company has launched a new product, AP® School Support, which brings together the best of its mentoring, materials, professional development and essay feedback designed specifically for AP programs. Featuring Andrew Sharos, author of All 4s and 5s: A Guide to Teaching and Leading Advanced Placement Programs, this specialized program is designed for schools or districts looking to reinvent their AP programs or accelerate a culture of AP success with their students.
Contact: Joanna Newton, [email protected]
SOURCE Marco Learning
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