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- A literacy emergency is taking place in pre-K to 12 education that has been exacerbated by COVID-19.
- In response, Cambium expanded its portfolio of digital-learning solutions by acquiring Lexia Learning.
- More than 20 million students use Cambium, making it a leader in technology-enhanced education.
One of the most pressing challenges in the education community has only worsened during the pandemic: Ensuring all educators and students feel seen, valued, and supported.
Tens of thousands of educators and their students felt added weight from the pandemic when they were suddenly thrust into a new world of online learning and in-person schooling was disrupted by social-distancing protocols.
Indeed, teachers are increasingly worried that this changing educational paradigm could leave many students behind. More than 70% of teachers surveyed by Lexia Learning before the 2021-22 school year felt students would be unprepared for grade-level content, and 64% believed it would take several months to catch up.
“This tumultuous year has emphasized the importance of having proven, innovative digital solutions and professional learning services that can help students and educators,” said John Campbell, CEO of Cambium Learning Group. “That’s why we’ve accelerated our efforts to provide essential digital-learning solutions, as parents, educators, and students continue to navigate online and remote environments.”
And there is clearly a robust and growing market for educational technology. Cambium — which provides a variety of award-winning digital solutions from pre-K through high school — is on track to deliver bookings nearing $1 billion in 2021, further establishing itself as a global edtech leader and representing more than 70% annual growth rate since it became a private company in 2018. It now serves more than 20 million students and 30% of US teachers across 94% of US districts.
This growth has been fueled by a different kind of acquisition playbook that ensures impact always comes first, allowing acquired businesses to stay focused on their customers. Cambium strategically acquired Lexia Learning in February 2021 and successfully brought it together with Voyager Sopris Learning to create a new brand focused on literacy acceleration.
What’s drawing so many educators, students, and parents to Cambium? Campbell believes it’s the company’s focus on three essential elements educators say are most critical in addressing today’s heightened learning challenge: simplicity, certainty, and now.
Education technology for today — and tomorrow
With respect to simplicity, Cambium strives to create learning experiences that are effective as well as practical, approachable, and relevant. For instance, Time4Learning, a Cambium company, is a comprehensive online pre-K-12 curriculum for homeschool students and parents. Cambium provides fun, engaging, and effective learning — while lightening the burden on parents — so students can progress at their own pace, thereby supporting the ongoing shift toward student-driven education. As Campbell explains, “When we reduce confusion and improve clarity for teachers and students, not only are they able to use our solutions; they want to use them.”
Cambium also strives to foster certainty by providing products users know they can count on. Through its family of best-of-breed companies, Cambium’s solutions are designed to solve real problems — giving educators the confidence to make the most of every learning moment.
“We want to help our students address their learning gaps and celebrate their success,” a Lexia Learning survey respondent said. “When you have explicit teaching taking place, you don’t have to sacrifice a minute where learning could be happening.”
Additionally, Cambium and its followers believe in the power of now. By creating updated, highly relevant learning experiences that can be customized or modified to meet needs, teachers can create experiences that benefit learners today — as well as those that will be necessary tomorrow.
“We know that the path to a better future is paved with many successful todays,” Campbell said. “And we’re helping our partners take the next right step, right now.”
That focus on helping more educators and students “now” was one of the reasons Cambium acquired Lexia Learning, a provider of research-proven products in personalized literacy curriculum, assessment, and professional learning. By adding Lexia Core5 and Lexia PowerUp Literacy products to a strong portfolio that already included best-in-class reading solutions such as LETRS and LANGUAGE! Live, Cambium further expanded its capabilities in offering high-quality literacy products and services.
Today, more than 20 million students in more than 170 countries use Cambium products, positioning the company as a leader in this new era of digital, technology-enhanced education. In October alone, Lexia saw 50 million student logins by 3.5 million students on its literacy platform. As educators, students, and parents prepare for schooling in 2022, Campbell feels confident the company’s diverse portfolio will further ease the pandemic-driven burdens educators and students face.
“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to emphasize our core elements of simplicity, certainty, and now, to help all educators and students feel seen, valued, and supported,” he said.
Learn more about Cambium’s education technology options here.
This post was created by Insider Studios with Cambium.
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