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Last edited by Sam-you-ale (talk | contribs) 2 seconds ago. (Update) |
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education technology |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Greg Porter |
| Headquarters | Folsom, CA, U.S |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Hardeep Gulati as CEO (Aug 2015-) |
Number of employees | 3,563 (2023)[1] |
| Parent | Bain Capital |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | www |
PowerSchool Group LLC, sometimes referred to as PowerSchool Holdings Inc., is an American cloud-based education technology company for K-12 education, headquartered in Folsom, California. PowerSchool specializes in student information systems (SIS) and data management for school administrations.
PowerSchool provides services to over 45 million students and sells solutions to over 70 countries worldwide. It is considered to be the leading provider of K-12 education.[2]
History
[edit]Founding (1983–1997)
[edit]PowerSchool was founded in 1997 by Greg Porter. It unofficially came into development in 1983 at Fremont High School. Porter, who was the student body president at his school, and his classmate created the software as a class project to help communicate attendance and other information across the district's network to it's computers. Porter pursued his interest in programming and further developed the program into a web-based student information system, named PowerSchool, while also forming the business under the same title. PowerSchool made it's first installation at Utah's South Summit District School.[3][4][5][6]
Porter subsequently acquired investors for the company, as well as gaining favorability for his product among many school districts. PowerSchool eventually garnered the attention of Apple, who proposed an acquisition offer.[4]
Apple & Pearson acquisition (2001–2006)
[edit]Apple's acquisition
[edit]On March 2001, Apple announced to acquire PowerSchool for $62 million in Apple stock,[7] making it the first transaction Apple has made in the education sector.[8] Subsequent to the acquisition, Business Insider had criticized Apple's decision to acquire PowerSchool, remarking that it wasn't "Apple's style".[9]
Pearson's acquisition
[edit]“Apple’s commitment to education has never been stronger, which is why we’re excited to broaden our relationship with Pearson. Our customers will love having Pearson’s education content on their iPods, and we’re confident that PowerSchool will continue to flourish and grow with Pearson.”
On May 25th, 2006, Apple announced to sell PowerSchool to Pearson for an undisclosed amount. PowerSchool's solutions "complement" Pearson's existing enterprise, of which they also provide services similarly to PowerSchool. The company was to be relocated to Folsom, California and to Mesa, Arizona, with PowerSchool president Mary McCaffery leading the combined business.[10] It was speculated by Business Insider that the "disconnect" from Apple's products and services may have been the reason as to why they sold the company to Pearson.[9]
As a result of the acquisition, the company generated $97 million in revenue and $20 million in operating income throughout 2014.[11][12][13]
Vista Equity Partners & Bain Capital acquisition, Merger, Takeovers, IPO, Privatization (2015–2024)
[edit]Vista's acquisition
[edit]"We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Vista and build upon our success as the market leader in K-12 student information systems. As a standalone company, we are well positioned to deliver comprehensive solutions and individualized education with PowerSchool as the central hub that connects schools, teachers, students, parents and value-added solution and content providers. I look forward to leveraging my corporate education and enterprise systems expertise to lead PowerSchool through its next chapter of innovation, growth and leadership."
In June 2015, private equity firm Vista Equity Partners acquired PowerSchool from Pearson for $350 million. Pearson declared to explore a sale of the company in February.[14][11] Blackboard was initially sought to purchase PowerSchool as it was reported that an ongoing deal was taking place. Other companies had also arranged offers to take part in the sale; one of them being Vista, who successfully achieved a deal with Pearson in the end. Briefly after the acquisition, Vista made it their intention to not alter or overhaul any of PowerSchool's services, ensuring its customers that business would perform as usual.[12][15]
On August 4th, 2015, PowerSchool Group was officially acquired by Vista, completing the acquisition, as well as appointing new CEO Hardeep Gulati. Gulati had 16 years of experience as an executive for software companies at the time, half of his experience working for Oracle. Additionally, Bryan MacDonald, who was the former director of Pearson's School Systems division, was appointed and served as chief technology officer and strategist, while also having Mark Oldemeyer as chief financial officer.[16][13]
On January 19th, 2018, Reuters reported that the equity firm was exploring options to possibly combine their two software companies, PowerSchool and PeopleAdmin. Vista soon after consulted with an investment bank, UBS Group AG, for evaluation of a potential merger.[17] On April 16th, PowerSchool announced to acquire PeopleAdmin, a provider of talent management solutions, as well as receiving a joint investment from Vista Equity Partners and Onex Corporation. As of that day, the combined companies would be valued at around $2 billion, as well as generating annual revenues at roughly $400 million.[18][19][20]
Data breach (2025–present)
[edit]Privacy and security concerns
[edit]Products
[edit]See Also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. (PWSC)". Stock Analysis. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "PowerSchool Solutions Selected by School Systems Across North America and Middle East to Help Improve Administrative, Classroom, and Productivity Initiatives". www.powerschool.com. November 16, 2022. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ Ménard, Justin (2022-02-24). "PowerSchool: The Path to Dominate the K-12 Market". ListEdTech. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ a b "Successful entrepreneur and founder of PowerSchool returns to graduate from BYU". NEW Family, Home and Social Sciences (FHSS). 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
- ^ "Greg Porter, Founder of PowerSchool, By Scott Lillis | ETEC522: Ventures in Learning Technologies". blogs.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
- ^ a b "PowerSchool valued at over $3 bln in NYSE debut as shares rise". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ "Apple to Acquire PowerSchool". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "Apple Acquires PowerSchool | Mergr M&A Deal Summary". mergr.com. Retrieved 2025-03-26.
- ^ a b Russell, Kyle. "The Worst Acquisitions Apple Ever Made". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
- ^ "Pearson to Acquire PowerSchool". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ a b "Pearson to sell PowerSchool to Vista Equity Partners". www.powerschool.com. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ a b "Pearson to Sell PowerSchool to Vista Equity Partners for $350M - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ a b Wang, Tiffany (2024-10-01). "Transforming EdTech: PowerSchool's Growth Under Vista". Vista Equity Partners. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ "Why Pearson Wants to Sell PowerSchool - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
- ^ "Blackboard Flirts with Buying Pearson's PowerSchool - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
- ^ "PowerSchool Group Acquired by Vista Equity Partners and Appoints CEO". www.powerschool.com. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ Llana Baker, Andrew Berlin (January 18, 2018). "Vista Equity explores options for PowerSchool, PeopleAdmin - sources". Reuters. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "PowerSchool to Acquire PeopleAdmin, Furthering its Mission to Improve Student Outcomes with Comprehensive Unified Solutions for K-12 Education". www.powerschool.com. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ Baker, Llana (April 16, 2018). "Vista Equity to merge PowerSchool, PeopleAdmin with Onex investment: sources". Reuters. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Private Equity Firm Invests in Deal to Merge PowerSchool and PeopleAdmin - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ Rauf, David Saleh (2021-07-29). "PowerSchool, Major Ed-Tech Provider, Valued at $3.5 Billion Following Initial Public Offering". Marketbrief. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
- ^ Hunt, Daniel (7 July 2024). "Folsom-based PowerSchool to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital for $5.6 billion". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
- ^ "PowerSchool to be Acquired by Bain Capital in $5.6 Billion Transaction". www.baincapital.com. June 7, 2024. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
- ^ "Bain Capital Completes Acquisition of PowerSchool". www.powerschool.com. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ "PowerSchool Completes Acquisition of PeopleAdmin to Help Schools and Districts Recruit and Empower Teachers to Support Student Success". www.powerschool.com. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ "Early Edtech Giant PowerSchool Goes Public - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ Italiano, Laura. "A lawsuit accuses Bain Capital's PowerSchool of trafficking in student data. The edtech giant says everything it does is legal". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-04-25.
- ^ Feathers, Todd (2022-01-11). "This Private Equity Firm Is Amassing Companies That Collect Data on America's Children – The Markup". themarkup.org. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ^ "Cherkin v PowerSchool complaint 2024.05.06". www.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2025-04-29.