Spring Education Group

Last updated

Spring Education Group (SEG), is a for-profit private school company based in Saratoga, California. It is majority-owned by Primavera Capital Group, a Chinese-based investment group. SEG's CEO is Michael Collins. [1] [2]

Contents

History

In 2017 SEG purchased Stratford Schools, which operates pre-k through 8th grade schools in California, for $500 million in a leveraged buyout using $220 million in loans from Macquarie Group. Stratford was previously owned by Warburg Pincus, a private equity group. [3]

BASIS Independent Schools

In April 2019 SEG purchased the five BASIS Independent Schools based in California, New York City, Washington, and Virginia. 190 parents at the pre-K-12 school in Red Hook, Brooklyn (opened 2014) and the pre-K-8 school in Manhattan (opened 2017) wrote a letter with concerns that BASIS was now owned by a Chinese-based private equity group. School tuition was approximately $32,000 per year. [4] [5]

Nobel Learning

In 2018, SEG and China-based Primavera Capital Group purchased Nobel Learning Communities from Investcorp. At the time, Nobel had 25,000 students at 190 schools in 19 states. It was founded in 1983 [6] and purchased by Investcorp and Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company (from Leeds Equity Partners) in 2015. [7] [8] [9]

Nobel is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania and was listed on NASDAQ as NLCI. In 2010 their gross revenue was $232 million, with $29 million gross profit, and costs including total personnel costs of $112 million, rent-related costs $59 million, and school operations of $32 million. In 2006 Nobel's gross revenue was $160 million (with $23 million gross profit). [6]

In 2010 Nobel purchased an online K-12 private school, Laurel Springs School, based in Ojai, California, for $13 million. It was founded in 1994 and accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 2000. In 2010 the school's gross revenue was $6.7 million, with personnel costs of $1.5 million. [7] [6]

On April 29, 2009, Nobel was sued in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania US District Court by the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the US DOJ for violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by excluding children with disabilities from its schools and programs. [6]

Nobel also operated Paladin Academy in Florida. The school was closed by Spring Education Group in 2021.

Other schools operated and trademarked by Nobel include Camelback Desert Schools, Chesterbrook Academy, Discovery Isle Child Development Center, Enchanted Care Learning Center, Merryhill School, Southern Highlands Preparatory School and The Honor Roll School. [6]

COVID-19

On March 20, 2020, a worker at Touchstone Preschool in Hillsboro, Oregon, operated by SEG, tested positive for COVID-19. The preschool was closed for a deep cleaning and planned to remain closed for 14 days. [2]

After 34 years in operation, a Merryhill preschool permanently closed for economic reasons in May 2020 in Modesto, California. Its financial standing had been made worse due to COVID-19 closures. It had leased space from Tenet Healthcare. [10]

The temporary pandemic closures, making SEG's Debt-to-income ratio worse, caused Moody's Investors Service to change their credit rating for SEG from "stable" to "negative". [11]

Approximately 21 preschools were closed by Spring Education Group in December 2020. At the time indicated as temporary, many have since become permanent. 38% of the company's schools in Florida, including Chesterbrook Academy and Paladin Academy ceased operations by June 2021.

Florida voucher program dispute

In September 2023, Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced that voucher programs for four private schools owned by Spring Education Group would be ended due to alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) via its majority owner, Primavera Capital Group and its CEO Fred Hu. [12] [13] [14] [15] Fred Hu denied any membership in the CCP. [15]

Notable schools

Other notable schools operated by SEG include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kindergarten</span> Preschool educational approach

Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Germany, Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from two to six years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.

Education in China is primarily managed by the state-run public education system, which falls under the Ministry of Education. All citizens must attend school for a minimum of nine years, known as nine-year compulsory education, which is funded by the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preschool</span> Establishment for education of young children

A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. It may be publicly or privately operated, and may be subsidized from public funds. The typical age range for preschool in most countries is from 2 to 6 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early childhood education</span> The teaching of children from birth to age eight

Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivalent of third grade. ECE is described as an important period in child development.

Most schools in Macau are private or subsidized schools. As of the 2023–2024 school year, there were 76 schools in Macau, including eight public schools and 68 private schools. Of the 73 schools that offered formal education, six were not a part of Macau's free education network. As of 2006 many of the schools in Macau are operated by Catholic organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearson plc</span> British multinational publishing and education company

Pearson plc is a multinational corporation, headquartered in the UK, focused on educational publishing and services.

Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Japan, and Singapore. Investcorp's principal client base is in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, but it also has a growing base of institutional clients in North America, Europe, and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Equity</span> American global private equity investment firm

Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investments and has invested in more than 170 companies globally since its inception in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Nueva School</span> Private, coeducational school in Hillsborough and San Mateo, California, United States

The Nueva School is a private school, with two campuses—the lower and middle school in Hillsborough, and the high school in San Mateo, California—serving gifted students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Nueva was founded in 1967 by Karen Stone McCown. Originally, the Nueva School only served younger students, but in 2013 it expanded to include a high school, and a new campus for it was built as part of the Bay Meadows development in San Mateo, opening in August 2014.

KinderCare Learning Centers, LLC is an American operator of for-profit child care and early childhood education facilities founded in 1969 and currently owned by KinderCare Education based in Portland, Oregon. The company provides educational programs for children from six weeks to 12 years old. KinderCare is the third-largest privately held company headquartered in Oregon. In 39 states and the District of Columbia, some 200,000 children are enrolled in more than 1,250 early childhood education community centers, over 600 before-and-after school programs, and over 100 employer-sponsored centers. In 2021, revenue was US$7.8B (2021). In 2022, it acquired Crème de la Crème, a former competitor that provided complementary services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo Education Group</span> Corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona

Apollo Education Group, Inc. is an American corporation based in the South Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona, with an additional corporate office in Chicago, Illinois. It is privately-owned by a consortium of investors including The Vistria Group, LLC and funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth C. Griffin</span> American billionaire hedge fund manager (born 1968)

Kenneth Cordele Griffin is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co-chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund. He also owns Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man Group</span> British investment management business

Man Group plc is an active investment management business listed on the London Stock Exchange. It provides investment funds in liquid and private markets for institutional and private investors. It is the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund company, reporting $161.2 billion in funds under management as of September 2023. The firm is headquartered at Riverbank House in London and employs over 1,600 people in various locations. The company was a sponsor of the Man Booker Prize from 2002 to 2019.

The Garfield Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from Garfield, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

Education in the Philippines is compulsory at the basic education level, composed of kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school. The educational system is managed by three government agencies by level of education: the Department of Education (DepEd) for basic education; the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for higher education; and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for technical and vocational education. Public education is funded by the national government.

Carnegie Learning, Inc. is a provider of K–12 education services for math, literacy and ELA, world languages, and applied sciences, as well as high-dosage tutoring and professional learning.

Nemir Amin Kirdar was an Iraqi banker, billionaire, businessman, financier and author. As a founding father of private equity, and an economic and cultural bridge-builder, he was the founder and CEO of Investcorp, a global alternative investment group that operates in Manama, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, and Singapore. He spent much of his life in London, and held British citizenship. He was of Iraqi Turkmen background from Kirkuk.

Laureate Education, Inc. is a company based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru. The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq.

BASIS Curriculum Schools, Inc. is a global network of both public and private schools that use the BASIS Curriculum. BASIS Curriculum Schools are made up of BASIS Charter Schools, BASIS Independent Schools, and BASIS International Schools.

Primavera Capital Group is a Chinese investment firm with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Silicon Valley and Singapore. It is considered one of China's leading investment firms with notable investments in companies such as Alibaba, Ant Group, ByteDance, XPeng, Yum China and The Princeton Review.

References

  1. ↑ "Early childhood education leaders take action for acceptance, inclusion and belonging". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  2. 1 2 Brad Schmidt (21 March 2020). "Hillsboro day care worker tests positive for coronavirus". oregonlive. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Berlin, Andrew (8 December 2017). "Primavera lines up US$220 million of loans for Stratford School LBO". U.S. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Brody, Leslie (30 April 2019). "Parents Voice Concern Over Sale of BASIS Independent Schools". WSJ. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  5. ↑ "In the News: Parents Voice Concern Over Sale of Basis Independent Schools - Education Next". Education Next. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020. Last month, BASIS Independent Schools was sold to a company backed by a China-based investment firm. (The sale does not affect the charter schools.) Leslie Brody of the Wall Street Journal reports that families at the private BASIS Independent School in New York City have written a letter to the company expressing concern about what this sale will mean for their school.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. 10-K". sec.gov. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Investcorp Announces Sale of Nobel Learning Communities - Investcorp". Investcorp. 1 August 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020. Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, today announced it has completed the sale of Nobel Learning Communities, one of the leading providers of private education in the United States (from pre-school up to high school), to Spring Education Group, the leading PreK-12 private school operator in the United States and portfolio company of Primavera Capital Group, a leading Asia-based investment firm. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1984, Nobel Learning operates a network of over 190 private schools across 19 states in the United States. The company also has an accredited online private school, Laurel Springs, that offers college preparatory programs to students from over 80 countries worldwide. With over 25,000 students, Nobel Learning is one of the largest private school operators in North America.
  8. ↑ "Investcorp acquires Nobel Learning Communities, a network of 176 schools in the US - Investcorp". Investcorp. 30 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020. Founded in 1984, Nobel Learning operates a network of 176 schools across 18 states. The company also has an accredited online private school that offers college preparatory programs to students from over 55 countries worldwide. With approximately 5,000 teachers and staff and 25,000 students, Nobel Learning is one of the largest private operators in the U.S. Investcorp is joined in the acquisition by its co-investors and partners, Mumtalakat, the investment arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
  9. ↑ Alexa J. Henry (7 August 2018). "K-12 Dealmaking: Imagine Learning, Spring Education, Procare Make Acquisitions". Edweek. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020. Investcorp Sells Nobel Learning Communities: Investcorp, a provider and manager of alternative investments, completed the sale of Nobel Learning Communities, a provider of private education in the United States, to Spring Education Group, a preK-12 private school operator in the United States and portfolio company of Primavera Capital Group, an Asia-based investment firm. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  10. ↑ Kevin Valine (14 May 2020). "Modesto's Merryhill Preschool closing, says its money woes made worse by pandemic". modbee. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "Rating Action: Moody's affirms Spring Education Group's B3 CFR; outlook revised to negative". Moody's Investors Service. 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  12. ↑ Postal, Leslie (22 September 2023). "DeSantis drops Park Maitland School, other campuses from voucher programs because of China ties". Orlando Sentinel . Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Crowley, Kinsey (25 September 2023). "DeSantis' latest anti-communist campaign targets Florida schools linked to Chinese firms". The Columbus Dispatch . Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  14. ↑ Luscombe, Richard (2 October 2023). "DeSantis invokes China 'boogeyman' narrative amid flailing campaign". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  15. 1 2 Morris, Stephen; Kinder, Tabby (21 July 2022). "HSBC installs Communist party committee in Chinese investment bank" . Financial Times . Archived from the original on 8 July 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2023. Goldman Sachs does not have a CCP committee but has employed senior party members, including Fred Hu, who was chair of its Greater China business.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.