Penn Foster High School

Last updated

Penn Foster High School
Location
315 Deaderick Street, 17th Floor, Suite 1721, UBS Tower

Nashville
,
Tennessee
37238

United States
Coordinates 36°9'56.5"N, 86°46'56.3"W
Information
Type Private High School
Established1890
FounderThomas J. Foster
StatusOpen
CEEB code 394413
CEOKermit Cook
Grades9–12
ColorsBlue and White   
AccreditationRegional: Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools
National: DEAC AdvancED: AdvancED
Website www.pennfoster.edu/high-school

Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school in the United States. The school offers online high school diploma program and various career-focused concentration programs. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited, was originally based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is among the largest high schools by enrollment in the United States. [1]

Contents

History

19th century

The institution was founded in 1890 by Thomas J. Foster, a newspaper editor, as the International Correspondence Schools (ICS). It aimed to provide coal miners with the education they needed to advance in their careers and increase worker safety. [2]

20th century

By the 1920s, public high school education became more universal and benefits such as the G.I. Bill led to a decline in enrollment. [2] ICS operated on a smaller scale from the 1950s to the 1990s. [3]

After several name changes in the 1990s, in 2006 ICS became Penn Foster High School, along with Penn Foster Career School and Penn Foster College.

21st century

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] In 2018, Bain Capital acquired Penn Foster from Vistria Group. [9] [10]

In 2024, Penn Foster closed its Scranton service center, ending its physical presence in the city where it was founded. [11] The company's longtime headquarters was located at 911 Oak Street in Scranton. [12] The closure impacted approximately 135 employees and was part of the organization's transition to remote operations. [11]

Academics

Penn Foster High School is an open enrollment institution. As an online school, students work with the support of certified teachers. Students complete core subjects and elective courses, with some electives aligned to career areas such as healthcare, information technology, and veterinary assistant. [13]

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Penn Foster High School has 11.5 FTE (full-time equivalent teachers) for about 13,000 students. [13]

Partnerships

Penn Foster High School partners with Chicago CRED, to provide high school diploma options for young adults. [14] It also provides diploma programs through the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps. [15]

Student outcomes

According to data published by Penn Foster High School in 2025, the school reported a 65% completion rate for students who enrolled between January 1 and December 31, 2020. [16] This rate reflects graduations within 150% of the expected program time and excludes students who canceled within six days, did not start the program, were dismissed, or transferred to another program. A total of 24,767 students in the cohort graduated from the high school program.

Accreditation

Penn Foster High School is regionally accredited for grades 9-12 by the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS). [17] and nationally accredited by the DEAC. [18] Penn Foster High School is also accredited by Cognia. [19] Additionally, the high school is an approved Category III non-public accredited online school by the Tennessee State Board of Education, [16] but is not licensed by the Pennsylvania Department Of Education. [20]

Penn Foster High School is cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center [21] , allowing its approved courses and diplomas to be used for student-athlete eligibility. However, not all courses may meet NCAA core standards, so students should check course-specific approval.

Social groups and clubs

Previously, Penn Foster hosted an online student community that included various clubs, such as photography club, book club, science club, etc. This community was discontinued in 2025. [22]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "10 Largest High Schools in the United States". /largest.org. largest.org. June 16, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  2. 1 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 April 9, 2021.
  3. ↑ "International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania - 1891 to the Present". digitalservices.scranton.edu. University of Scranton. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Princeton Review to sell test prep business name". Associated Press. March 27, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 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. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ "THE VISTRIA GROUP: A NEW APPROACH TO DOING WELL BY DOING GOOD" (PDF). Vistria Group. Retrieved April 7, 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. May 2, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Penn Foster closing Scranton service center". Scranton Times-Tribune. January 11, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Then and now: International Correspondence School / Penn Foster". Scranton Times-Tribune. November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Private and Non-Public Schools Enrollment Reports". www.education.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of Education. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Chicago CRED violence prevention program participants earn high school diplomas - CBS Chicago". www.cbsnews.com. August 21, 2025. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  15. ↑ Kropf, Ginny (May 2, 2023). "Job Corps student gets wish: cap and gown for graduation". Orleans Hub. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Accreditation & Licensing | Penn Foster". www.pennfoster.edu. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  17. ↑ Penn Foster High School Middle States Accreditation
  18. ↑ "Penn Foster High School DEAC Accreditation". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Cognia Registry". home.cognia.org. Retrieved September 22, 2023. "Grades: Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth. Accredited: Yes. Initial Accreditation Date: 2016-11-02" (shown 2023-09-22)
  20. ↑ PA Dept of Education Institution Program Search
  21. ↑ "NCAA Eligibility Center - High School Portal". web3.ncaa.org. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Sign In — Penn Foster Community". community.pennfoster.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2025.

41°26′51″N75°40′06″W / 41.447547°N 75.668351°W / 41.447547; -75.668351

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