K12 Inc. Comments on Ongoing Action Plan for Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA)

K12 Inc. Comments on Ongoing Action Plan for Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA)

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- K12 Inc. (NYS: LRN) . K12 today released the following statement regarding its ongoing action plan in support of Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA):

K12 has been working closely for some time with Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA)'s independent non-profit governing board to address performance issues arising from the school's changing demographics and the influx of academically at-risk students who have transferred to COVA.

While growth in at-risk populations is a phenomenon increasingly affecting public schools across the country, the growth in this cohort in COVA appears disproportionate to other schools we manage. This influx has required extensive changes to an intervention model there, an adjustment which has proved difficult for some teachers in the short term and also contributed to a reduction in parent satisfaction to a level below the near-90% range characteristic of other K12-managed schools.

The academic success of all the children in the schools that we manage remains our number one priority, and working with our governing charter and district board partners, we have extensive investment underway in enhanced remedial instruction, programs and teaching practices across K12-managed schools. K12 takes accountability seriously, and COVA's recent decline in academic performance, as indicated by Colorado's new growth model, is a concern to the company and resulted in the development and implementation of a concerted action plan in the Fall of 2012.

A special operations team has been put in place at COVA, and significant improvements in teaching and other practices are being made to ensure the school's efforts are fully consistent with intervention practices at other K12-managed virtual academies serving at-risk youth. The special operations team is carefully analyzing the academic growth model data at COVA in order to put additional plans and programs in place to help the school make further adjustments to serve this changing population, improve academic performance and increase accountability.

It is worth noting that the continued demand for COVA's offerings by the parents of academically at-risk children is a clear recognition of COVA's and K12's leadership in addressing the difficult challenges of this vulnerable student population.

The COVA Board and K12 are in active discussions with multiple charter authorizers. We remain confident that COVA will remain a long-term public school option in Colorado. We are also in close contact with the Board and parents and encourage an open, transparent, constructive discussion going forward as we work together to implement a transformative model of individualized education that meets the needs of every student.

About K12 Inc.

K12 Inc. (NYS: LRN) , a technology-based education company, is the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school. Using 21st century tools to prepare 21st century students, K12 provides a new choice for students to learn in a flexible and innovative way, at an individualized pace. K12 provides curriculums and academic services to public and private online schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. K12 is accredited through AdvancED, the world's largest education community. Additional information on K12 can be found at www.K12.com.

K12 Inc.
Investor Contact:
Christi Parker, 703-483-7077
VP, Investor Relations
chparker@k12.com
or
Press Contact:
Jeff Kwitowski, 703-483-7281
SVP, Public Affairs
jkwitowski@k12.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Colorado Virginia

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