The American Academy

Contact: job-adm@taaschools.net

The American Academy is looking for an Account Development Manager (ADM) to join our team. The chosen candidate will be responsible for developing a pipeline of school and school district opportunities for our School As a Service offering, supporting our field sales team, and being part of a dedicated team of people whose mission is to improve the lives of students of any age through online education.

Contact: job-ese@taaschools.net

Positions currently available in MICHIGAN, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, NEW MEXICO and WASHINGTON.

The American Academy is looking for Education Sales Executives to join our team. The chosen candidates will be responsible for promoting the mission of The American Academy through sales to public schools throughout the United States.

Our mission statement is a product of our beliefs about student learning. Get to know our education world view and you'll soon discover what The American Academy is all about.

• Today’s high schools were originally designed to serve only 10% of the population. [more]

  Secondary schools as we know them were designed to educate a homogonous fraction of society that could afford the "leisure" of secondary education; the instructional model prepared students to attend four-year universities. The future of education must respond to the rapidly-changing needs of our diverse student population and make a choice of formats and learning paths available to all students. Alternative education formats should be the rule rather than the exception.

• Some people truly have no interest in attending a "Top-10" university. [more]

  High schools should be transport mechanisms that help students get to "the next thing," whether it be employment, vocational training, or higher education. Schools need to more closely align their outcomes with the expectations and requirements of employers and career colleges and technical schools, as well as traditional colleges and universities. Each student should put together a "High School and Beyond" plan to help them identify their goals and interests and prepare them to transition successfully to that next thing.

• 21^st century skills are critical for preparing students for survival and success in a flat world. [more]

  Technology-mediated education can cultivate 21^st century skills in today’s students, including self-motivation, time-management, distributed communication, and business writing.

• Dropout recovery is as important as dropout prevention. [more]

  Forty-five million adults in the U.S. do not have a high school diploma. According to the Gates Foundation, 76% of those students would go back to high school if they had the opportunity to do so with students their own age. Because there is no association of high school dropouts, we need to partner with organizations that routinely work with these populations to reach motivated students.

• People without a high school diploma are in a race to the bottom. [more]

  Average income over time for people without a high school diploma has been decreasing. People are not competitive in our new global society without a high school education and additional training.

• Finding ways to fund flexible education opportunities is key to helping people improve their lives. [more]

  The adults who would benefit most from completing their high school education are also the least able to pay for it. Their hands are tied by their inability to access government-subsidized financial aid for the private programs that best meet their needs for a flexible, quality education; without subsidies, these students are stuck in neutral (or even going in reverse). Finding innovative ways to help students pay for their education is critical to our success in reducing the magnitude and severity of the dropout crisis.

• Technology can be leveraged to create a high-quality learning experience that is both flexible and affordable. [more]

  Online learning allows students of all ages to balance schooling with competing time- and location-bound priorities. Innovative uses of technology for online classroom management can drive down instructional costs without sacrificing a "high-touch" student experience.

• Public/private partnerships enable public schools to offer alternatives without incurring additional costs or administrative burdens. [more]

  Public/private partnerships allow public schools to access a host of learning options without investing the time, money, and expertise required to develop and administer alternative programs internally. In fact, public schools could realize significant cost savings by partnering with private entities that have built efficient, scalable businesses.

• In order for students to be successful, they must be engaged in the learning process and feel ownership of their learning. [more]

  Students have become savvy consumers and have increased control and ownership of more facets of their lives than ever before. Giving students ownership and engaging them in the learning process promotes student success.

• All students, with the proper motivation and support, can be successful online learners. [more]

  Students who value their education and need a different option can make online learning work, given appropriate tools and support, e.g., accountability, learning strategies, etc.

• Assessments of student learning should provide students with a variety of opportunities to demonstrate their achievement. [more]

  Students learn best through a variety of modalities; it follows that students will best demonstrate their learning through a variety of modalities.

• Online learning helps students learn persistence and how to deal with ambiguity. [more]

  Online learners learn early to work in a distributed environment, to move forward without immediate answers to their questions, and how to draw conclusions based on the information they have at hand. It also helps learners learn to ask for help and clarification, as needed.

• The commitment to continual improvement is imperative for a school to enable students to become confident, self-directed, lifelong learners and adapt to students’ changing characteristics and needs. [more]

  As students’ characteristics and needs change, the school must evolve and adapt to keep pace and maintain relevance.

Students who participate in The American Academy's courses will learn a lot about the subjects they're studying. But as you can tell from our belief statements, we believe learning goes beyond knowing the dates of the Civil War and how to avoid comma splices.

The American Academy has a set of specific civic and social expectations for our students, as described in the standards and expectations below. [i]

1. Standard 1: Students develop personal, social, service, and leadership skills. [more]

   Indicator 1.1: Students demonstrate an understanding that each individual is instrumental in improving the quality of life for all members of the student's community.
   Indicator 1.2: Students demonstrate critical, creative, and innovative thinking, while identifying and solving real-world problems.
   Indicator 1.3: Students accept responsibility for their learning and demonstrate self-direction.
   

2. Standard 2: Students demonstrate positive behaviors and attitudes. [more]

   Indicator 2.1: Students demonstrate self-discipline, accountability, integrity, and ethics in an online learning environment and in civil society.
   Indicator 2.2: Students demonstrate and recognize the principles of wellness, and physical and emotional fitness.
   

3. Standard 3: Students are motivated and committed to learning. [more]

   Indicator 3.1: Students demonstrate a willingness to teach others new skills, and to share experiences in an effort to promote learning.

4. Standard 4: Students have a sense of belonging and accomplishment. [more]

   Indicator 4.1: Students demonstrate the ability to work with and show respect for diverse groups of people and recognizes the need for social responsibility and global awareness.

5. Standard 5: Students have positive relationships with adults, peers, and parents that support learning. [more]

   Indicator 5.1: Students have an adult or adults in their lives, who knows the student well and assists the student in achieving their learning outcomes.
   Indicator 5.2: Students participate in local and online communities that support positive life experiences.
   

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[i] Adapted from "21^st Century Civic and Social Expectations for Student Learning", published by The Schools of Fairhaven Massachusetts

Phone Number:		866-689-1932 (toll-free)
		801-931-2707 (local)
Fax Number:		801-931-2706
E-mail Address:		info@TAASchools.net
Office Location:		175 S. Main, Suite 1130
		Salt Lake City, UT 84111 [MAP] [Parking Info!]

Management Team
	Gregg Rosann President, Co-Founder and CTO	Rebekah Richards Chief Academic Officer, Co-Founder and School Principal
Board of Directors
	Mike Dodd Director	Anthony E. Meyer Co-Founder and Director	Dr. Dinesh Patel Director
Investors	Austin Ventures Lead Investor vSpring Capital Investor Paul Zane Pilzer Co-Founder and Investor Joel Peterson Investor

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Gregg Rosann, President, Co-Founder and CTO    gregg's blog

Gregg Rosann, 43, is a co-founder of The American Academy.

Gregg is the President and Chief Technology Officer of The American Academy, having also served as Chief Operating Officer during the Company's startup phase. Gregg has more than 20 years of experience in software and systems integration across a variety of industries, with expertise in the public sector. At the American Academy, Gregg is responsible for the operations and technology that deliver education to students worldwide.

Previous to The American Academy, Gregg served as Vice President of Software Engineering at Tomax Corporation, where he led the development of the company's flagship Retail.net product. Gregg also spent 15 years at American Management Systems (acquired by CGI), where he successfully delivered a series of large and innovative technology projects to state and local agencies across the country and to the federal government. He specialized in systems that delivered significant cost savings and operational efficiencies, and managed customer-facing projects that delivered more than $50 Million in revenue to the company's State, Local and Federal business units.

Gregg also spent a year as an associate at the Lassonde New Venture Development Center at the University of Utah. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut, and his M.S. in Science Instrumentation from the University of Utah. [TOP]

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Rebekah Richards, Chief Academic Officer, Co-Founder and School Principal

Rebekah Richards is The American Academy's Chief Academic Officer and School Principal. Rebekah has worked in online high school education since 1999; she has been involved in the early stage planning and implementation of numerous public and private online high schools throughout the country, including Colorado Online Learning, Connecticut’s Adult Education online program, The Online Latin School, and Insight Schools, Inc.

Prior to joining The American Academy, Rebekah was the Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Insight Schools, a subsidiary of the Apollo Group. Previously, she was the Founder and Executive Director of The Online Latin School, an online content and service provider for high schools; Rebekah also taught Latin and ancient Greek online for six years.

Rebekah is a frequent speaker on k12 online learning and has been featured at national and international conferences on topics including online learning for students with learning disabilities, online instructor training, learning management systems, training complex cognitive skills, and instructional message design.

Rebekah received a B.A. in Classics from Brigham Young University, an M.S. in Instructional Design and Technology from Utah State University, and an M.A. in Classical Philology from the University of Colorado-Boulder. [TOP]

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Mike Dodd, Director

Mike Dodd, venture partner, joined Austin Ventures in 2008 and focuses on early and expansion-stage software and web-enabled business and consumer services. Most recently, Mike was SVP of Corporate Development with Omniture, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR), a publicly traded analytics and online business optimization software company. While there Mike led the identification, acquisition, and integration efforts around Omniture’s acquisition of two domestic and two international companies which totaled approximately $500 million in consideration. Prior to Omniture, Mike was Senior Vice President and General Manager at Ancestry.com, a consumer online content subscription business. He was also a Partner with Europatweb, a venture capital firm where he worked with companies such as Liquidity Services Inc (NASDAQ: LQDT) and Ancestry.com (NASDAQ: ACOM), and a technology investment banker with Robertson Stephens in San Francisco.

Mike received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in finance from Syracuse University. [TOP]

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Anthony E. Meyer, Co-Founder and Director

Anthony E. Meyer, 48, is a co-founder of The American Academy.

In addition to his work at The American Academy, Tony is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of privately-held Meyer and Co. LLC, a diversified merchant banking firm based in New York City with interests in “entrepreneuring” and venture capital, real estate and “family office” management. He also serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Ocean Road Advisors, Inc. a family office management and investment company for several leading New York City-based families, which manages a portfolio in excess of $750 million invested on behalf of numerous client entities in a broad range of investment strategies, including public and private equities, hedge funds, real estate, and venture capital.

Tony has extensive experience and relationships in the real estate, finance, venture capital, healthcare, education and media sectors. He was a co-founder of the real estate, private equity and venture capital investment affiliates of two leading global investment and finance organizations, Lazard Frères & Co. (in 1994) and Trammell Crow Company (in 1984).

In 2002, Tony founded Extend Health, Inc., today the leading provider and manager of defined contribution health care programs for Corporate America. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, with all core operational staff and facilities based in Salt Lake City, the Company now operates the nation's largest Medicare Insurance Exchange on behalf of clients such as General Motors, Wal*Mart and Ford Motor Company.

Tony has lectured in real estate, finance and entrepreneurship at Stanford University, New York University and Southern Methodist University and is a past Chairman of the Board of Literacy Instruction for Texas (L.I.F.T.). He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization of the United Jewish Appeal and The Educational Alliance and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York and on the Board of Governors of Dr. Mehmet Oz' HEALTHCORPS. Anthony is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of World of Children, an international advocacy organization whose mission is to honor, illuminate and inspire action on behalf of children worldwide.

Tony graduated from Harvard College in 1982 as a John Harvard Scholar and received his MBA from Harvard Business School with honors in 1984. [TOP]

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Dr. Dinesh Patel, Director

Dr. Patel is a Managing Director and Founding Partner of vSpring Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund with over $400 million under management (2000 to present).

From 1985 through 1999, Dr. Patel served as co-founder, Chairman of The Board of Directors, President & CEO of TheraTech, Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah based company that has been a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of innovative drug delivery products. TheraTech went public in 1992 and became profitable in 1997. In January 1999, TheraTech was acquired for approximately $350 million by Watson Pharmaceuticals, a California based company.

Besides vSpring and TheraTech Inc., Dr. Patel has founded or co-founded several life science and technology companies including Ashni Naturaceuticals, Inc., Salus Therapeutics, Inc.(acquired by Genta), and OneCare.

Dr. Patel has been the recipient of numerous awards including; the 2009 Utah Genius Lifetime Avhievement Award, Honorary Doctor of Business Degree, University of Utah (2008), the 2006 Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame, 2006 Pathfinder Award - Edison Showcase University of Utah, 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Utah Asian Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Award, US Small Business Administration’s Business Achiever Award, Scientific and Technology Award (State of Utah), Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Mountain West Venture Group) and Scientific and Technology Development Pioneer of Progress Award, to name just a few.

Dr. Patel served as co-chair of Governor Huntsman’s transition team and is currently on the board of the Utah Policy Partnership (UPP), the board of the Utah Symphony & Opera, the Chairman of the USTAR Governing Authority board and sits on the Utah Technology Council executive committee.

Born and raised in Zambia, Africa, Dr. Patel recieved his undergraduate degree from India and his doctorate degree from University of Michigan. Dr. Patel along with his wife Kalpana and children, Ashish and Avni, reside in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Patel is active in the Indian and local community serving on several boards and is an active donor for various charitable causes. The Patels have established graduate fellowships at University of Utah, Utah State University and University of Michigan. [TOP]

About Our Investors

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Austin Ventures, Lead Investor
Austin Ventures ("AV") has worked with talented entrepreneurs to build valuable companies for nearly twenty-five years. With $3.9 billion under management, AV is the most active venture capital and growth equity firm in Texas and one of the most established in the nation. With an investment focus on business services and supply chain, financial services, media and information services, software and Internet, education and Texas special situations, AV invests at all stages of company development, from $100,000 in "planned experiments" in early stage ideas to $100+ million investments in expansion rounds, minority recapitalizations, and buyouts of lower middle market growth companies. AV's strategy is to partner with talented executives and entrepreneurs through its CEO-in-Residence and Entrepreneur-in-Residence programs. Visit austinventures.com for more information. [TOP]

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vSpring Capital, Investor
vSpring Capital is a traditional early-stage venture capital firm with over $400 million of committed capital under management. Collectively, the vSpring team has founded, served as senior officers or board members of over 75 companies. Combined, the directors have a history of successful company leadership and private equity investments that span over 60 years. [TOP]

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Paul Zane Pilzer, Co-Founder and Investor
Professor Paul Zane Pilzer is a world-renowned economist, software entrepreneur, adjunct professor, former White House economic advisor, and the author of nine best-selling books and dozens of scholarly publications. He received his BA from Lehigh University in 1974, his MBA from Wharton Business School in 1976, and was appointed an Adjunct Professor at New York University in 1979 where he taught for 21 consecutive years and was voted “best professor” by NYU students. [TOP]

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Joel Peterson, Investor
Joel Peterson is the Founding Partner of Peterson Partners. Before founding Peterson Partners, Joel was the managing partner at Trammell Crow Company. He holds an MBA from Harvard and currently teaches entrepreneurial management at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. He currently serves on the boards of jetBlue and Asurion. [TOP]

The American Academy, Inc. (TAA) was established in 2007 with the vision is to become the leading online educational services partner to public high schools throughout the U.S.

In addition to providing online and alternative educational services to high schools, TAA operates an accredited, private, online high school (The American Academy) that serves high school age and adult students worldwide who want to supplement their high school education and/or earn a full high school diploma.

Through its unique School-as-a-Service™ platform, The American Academy gives:

• Students an opportunity to choose from more than 230 online courses, supported by state-licensed teachers and access to tutoring 24/7.

• High Schools an innovative program for dropout recovery and prevention, as well as offering additional courses for credit recovery or curriculum expansion.

• Teachers the ability to teach, develop content, tutor and perform community outreach to promote online learning.

Our company is based on the principles of social entrepreneurship. We are changing the face of American education by delivering an educational experience designed to meet the individual needs of each student. TAA offers educational solutions ranging from individual courses for credit recovery and acceleration to a full diploma program. Sessions start every Monday; students can begin their courses virtually any time and can work during the days and times that are most convenient for them. All core courses are led by state-licensed teachers and the school is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.

Financial partners of The American Academy include Austin Ventures, vSpring Capital and Peterson Ventures.