Dr. Steven Guttentag Named President, Connections Education

Connections Education Co-Founder Continues the e-Learning Provider's Mission to Deliver High-Quality Online Learning and Drive Innovation

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) September 26, 2014

Dr. Steven Guttentag has been named president Connections Education; succeeding the late Barbara Dreyer, who passed away September 2. Guttentag, like Dreyer, is a co-founder of Connections Education. He previously served as the company's chief education officer, as well as president of its Connections Learning by Pearson division.

Most recently, Guttentag served as global head of direct delivery for Pearson, a post he assumed in January, 2014. In this capacity, Guttentag directed Pearson's strategy around the acquisition, management and operations of K-12 virtual, blended and campus-based schools worldwide.

“With Steven's deep understanding of digital learning, his curiosity to drive innovation, and his commitment to achieving the best for every student, he is the ideal person to carry Connections Education forward. Barbara Dreyer is sorely missed by the Pearson and Connections community, but she took great care to plan her own succession and she knew Steven was the right person for the job,” said John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson.

Guttentag commented, “I'm honored to serve Connections Education and further our shared mission. More than a company – it's a family of extremely dedicated and talented professionals who are committed to quality, service, and above all, supporting the needs of students. Also, being a part of the Pearson organization provides a huge opportunity to grow our institutional business expand internationally and continue to improve our curriculum by leveraging Pearson's vast catalog of instructional tools and resources.”

As Connections Education's chief educator, Dr. Guttentag had responsibility for the overall educational experience of students across the entire spectrum of K-12 virtual education solutions, including Connections Academy fully online public schools; Nexus Academy blended public high schools; and the private online school International Connections Academy, for which he also served as head of school.

As president of Connections Learning by Pearson, Dr. Guttentag, led the development of a business line designed to meet the needs of schools, districts, and other organizations looking to enhance their e-learning systems and offerings. Feature products include: online courses; online summer school; homebound student solutions; credit recovery; the Connexus™ digital learning platform; 21st Century Skills courses; a STEM package; online speech therapy; blended/hybrid programs; and virtual private and public school programs. Today over more than 1000 schools, school districts, state departments of education and other educational institutions, serving tens of thousands of students throughout the United States and beyond, use Connections Learning by Pearson products and services.

Dr. Guttentag began his career as a classroom English teacher and has spent the last 20 years developing creative approaches and leveraging technology to improve K-12 education. In addition to his classroom experience, Dr. Guttentag has held several senior school district administrative positions, including serving as chief information officer of the School District of Philadelphia. In these district posts, Dr. Guttentag had responsibilities in the areas of technology, facilities, special education, policy analysis, labor relations, budgeting, restructuring and grants management. He then shared this expertise with other districts and organizations during his tenure at KPMG Consulting Midwest's education practice.

Dr. Guttentag's academic credentials include a B.A. from the University of Michigan, a Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Policy and Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

About Pearson
Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. For more information about Pearson, visit http://www.pearson.com.

About Connections Education
Connections Education is a leading provider of high-quality, highly accountable virtual education solutions for students in grades K–12. Since 2001, the company's Connections Academy has delivered individualized learning to students through tuition-free virtual public schools. In the 2014–2015 school year, Connections Academy supports 29 virtual public schools in 25 states—serving more than 60,000 students. Connections Education offers a fully online private school for students worldwide and delivers blended (combination of online and on-site) learning in select states via tuition-free, public, Nexus Academy schools. The Connections Learning by Pearson division meets the needs of schools, school districts, and other institutions with a full range of digital learning solutions for grades K–12 including: online courses, a program for homebound students, a digital learning platform, and private and public online schools. Connections Education is based in Baltimore, Maryland and was named a 2013 “Top Workplace” by the Baltimore Sun and a 2013 “Best Place to Work” by Baltimore magazine. Connections Education is part of the global learning company Pearson. PSO.

Contact:
Allison Bazin
Public Relations, Connections Education
abazin@ConnectionsEducation.com
609-247-0274

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12202704.htm