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Penn Foster High School

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Coordinates: 41°26′51″N 75°40′06″W / 41.447547°N 75.668351°W / 41.447547; -75.668351
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Penn Foster High School
Address
Map
925 Oak Street

Scranton
,
Pennsylvania
18515

United States
Information
TypePrivate High School
Established1890
FounderThomas J. Foster
StatusOpen
PresidentFrank F. Britt
Grades9–12
Enrollment12,453 in 2022-2023 per DoE
Classrooms0
Color(s)Blue and White    
AccreditationRegional: Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
National: DEAC AdvancED: AdvancED
Websitewww.pennfoster.edu/high-school

Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited and is the largest high school by enrollment in the United States.[1]

It offers a high school diploma program and several high school concentration programs including an early college program. This is ideal for students looking to get a head start on their college education and vocational concentrations in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, health care, or information technology.

History

In 1890, Thomas J. Foster, a newspaper editor, founded what was soon named the International Correspondence Schools, to provide coal miners with the education they needed to advance in their careers and increase worker safety. According to a history of ICS "the school's success is owed to its understanding the market and its prospective students. Influenced by the popular Horatio Alger books, people were looking to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and climb the social and economic ladder." Beginning in the 1890s, ICS received competition from state schools, including Penn State College. And by the 1920s, public high school education had become more universal, providing more of the basic education that ICS had provided so many. The G.I. Bill paid for in-person educations, drawing away ICS customers. ICS shrank and was a small operation from the 1950's to the 1990's.[2] As the popularity of correspondence schools waned, ICS lost students.[3]

After several name changes in the 1990s, in 2006 ICS became Penn Foster High School, Penn Foster Career School, and Penn Foster College. In 2007, the Wicks Group, a private equity firm, bought the school from Thomson Corporation. In 2009, Penn Foster was resold to test preparation and educational support company The Princeton Review. In 2012, the Princeton Review brand name and operations were bought for $33 million by Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private-equity firm. The parent company was renamed Education Holdings 1, Inc.[4] In 2013, Education Holdings 1 filed for bankruptcy; it exited two months later.[5][6] In 2014 Vistria Group, led by Martin Nesbitt, acquired Penn Foster.[7][8]Bain Capital purchased Penn Foster from Vistria Group in 2018.[9][10]

Academics

Penn Foster High School is an open enrollment institution. As an online school, students do not work directly with certified teachers. Rather, they complete classes in a correspondence school-like format. To obtain a high school diploma, students take a core curriculum of classes and five elective courses. Students may use these elective courses to focus on specific industries, such as healthcare, information technology, or building technology, or may take approved college level courses.[11] Students and graduates can access Penn Foster Career Services, which helps students find a job through resume and cover letter preparation, job search assistance, and interview tips. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Penn Foster High School has 11.5 FTE (full-time equivalent teachers) for about 13,000 students.[12]

Student outcomes

According to the company, about 30,000 people graduate each year.[13]

Accreditation

Penn Foster High School is regionally accredited for grades 9-12 by the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS).[14] and nationally accredited by the DEAC.[15] Penn Foster High School is also accredited by Cognia[16] Penn Foster High School is not licensed by the Pennsylvania Department Of Education.[17] It is registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.[18] The parent company is an accredited business by the Better Business Bureau and has a A+ rating and 219 complaints in the last three years.[19]

Social groups and clubs

[20]

  • Photography Club
  • Friends of Hope
  • 20's Club
  • DIY Club
  • Cooking Club
  • Night Owls
  • Stand Strong
  • Book Club
  • Environmental Club
  • Student Council
  • Science Club
  • Quote Club
  • Words of Faith
  • Penn Foster Pet Club
  • Writers and Poetry Club

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "10 Largest High Schools in the United States". /largest.org. largest.org. 16 June 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. ^ Watkinson, James D. (1996). ""Education for Success": The International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania". Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Penn State University: 343–370. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. ^ "International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania - 1891 to the Present". digitalservices.scranton.edu. University of Scranton. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Princeton Review to sell test prep business name". Associated Press. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  5. ^ Penn Foster parent seeks bankruptcy protection
  6. ^ Ex-Princeton Review Owner Wins OK For Ch. 11 Exit Plan
  7. ^ "The Vistria Group Acquires Penn Foster Education Group". /mergr.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ^ "THE VISTRIA GROUP: A NEW APPROACH TO DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD" (PDF). Vistria Group. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Bain Capital to Buy Penn Foster, a Workforce-Skills Provider That Dates Back to Late 1800s"
  10. ^ "Bain Capital to Buy Penn Foster, a Workforce-Skills Provider That Dates Back to Late 1800s". www.edsurge.com. Ed Surge. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. ^ "High School Program | Penn Foster".
  12. ^ "Private and Non-Public Schools Enrollment Reports". www.education.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of Education. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  13. ^ "PENN FOSTER HIGH SCHOOL". partners.pennfoster.edu. Penn Foster. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  14. ^ Penn Foster High School Middle States Accreditation
  15. ^ "Penn Foster High School DEAC Accreditation". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  16. ^ "Cognia Registry". home.cognia.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22. "Grades: Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth. Accredited: Yes. Initial Accreditation Date: 2016-11-02" (shown 2023-09-22)
  17. ^ PA Dept of Education Institution Program Search
  18. ^ NCAA High School Administration
  19. ^ "Penn Foster". bbb.org. BBB. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  20. ^ http://community.pennfoster.edu/community/social-forums/social-groups-and-clubs

41°26′51″N 75°40′06″W / 41.447547°N 75.668351°W / 41.447547; -75.668351

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