BetterLesson Acquires Abl

BetterLesson adds rigorous, student scheduling and programming to its teaching and learning platform.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BetterLesson, the leader in data-driven, high-quality professional learning for K-12 educators announced the acquisition of Abl, a pioneer in equitable, rigorous, student scheduling and programming, expanding its capacity to help all K-12 districts meaningfully improve the quality of teaching and learning.

"Supporting every educator has always been at the core of BetterLesson's work," said Matthew Kennard, CEO of BetterLesson. "Today, K-12 schools and districts are facing exponentially more complex challenges than they were at BetterLesson's inception. Effectively supporting all K-12 educators – from classroom teacher to superintendent – requires a new approach to teaching and learning infrastructure."

Founded by teachers for teachers in 2008, BetterLesson has grown to support more than 80,000 educators and impact nearly 3 million students nationwide. Its professional learning platform and services have expanded from curated lesson plans and teaching strategies to a powerful and multi-faceted approach to professional learning that supports the whole educator, from classroom teacher to district leader.

Abl, which has impacted more than 2 million students in 81 school districts across 19 states, has revolutionized the power of academic scheduling to ensure that scheduling, staffing, and student support strategies translate into meaningful access to career pathways and suitably rigorous coursework predictive of student post-secondary success.

"We are thrilled to join our mission together with BetterLesson," said Howard Bell, CEO of Abl. "We share a vision for driving innovation and opening doors for districts to deliver impact for their schools and communities. By leveraging BetterLesson's scale, expertise, and complementary focus on high-quality education, we will carry our work into more districts, expand the impact of our work, and increase both companies' capacity to improve outcomes for students across the country."

At a moment when our K-12 education system is facing myriad economic pressures, this acquisition is likely to be just the beginning of major shifts in both the education and edtech landscape.

Simultaneously, ESSER funds and increased venture capital brought historic influxes into education and the edtech industry to help address historic new challenges created by the pandemic.

Today, the end of ESSER comes alongside increasingly complex economic and human capital challenges for public education. Competition for student enrollment is likely to increase in 2025. Teacher shortages will continue to be a challenge, as will burnout and turnover among teachers and administrators.

Despite the headwinds facing education and K-12 partners, the mission of our public school system and its vital place in our national community and economy remains.

K-12 education leaders will be faced with new urgency to fulfill the promise of public education, with every minute and every dollar going to the greatest impact possible for every educator and every student.

By bringing Abl into our cohesive vision for teaching and learning, we're embarking on building a new approach to teaching and learning infrastructure. This approach aligns professional learning, personalized coaching, academic management tools, and data reporting together to help educators improve teaching and learning – visibly, measurably, and sustainably.

East Wind served as the exclusive financial advisor to Abl in this transaction. For more information, visit www.betterlesson.com

About BetterLesson

BetterLesson was founded in 2008 with the mission to provide a simple way for educators to connect with each other and share high-quality lesson plans. Today, BetterLesson's high-quality, multi-faceted professional learning platform and services have helped more than 80,000 educators and impacted nearly 3 million students nationwide. To learn more about our expanding mission and capabilities, visit www.betterlesson.com.  

About Abl

Supporting more than 2 million students in 81 school districts across 19 states, Abl is a pioneer in equitable, rigorous, student scheduling and programming. By working at the heart of the structure that prevents schools from changing – the systems and the schedule – Abl aligns district dollars with student opportunity. Abl helps districts ensure that scheduling, staffing, and student support strategies translate into meaningful access to intense coursework for all students, ultimately helping districts reshape what's possible for their schools and for every student. Learn more about Abl's mission and impact at www.ablschools.com.

SOURCE BetterLesson