What Kelly Education does

Kelly Education is the largest K-12 education staffing firm in the United States and a division of Kelly Services Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA), operating across 41 states with 1,000+ district partners and serving 10,000+ schools daily. Founded in 1997-1998 to focus specifically on education workforce needs, the company has been ranked #1 by Staffing Industry Analysts for 11 consecutive years and provides managed staffing services across substitute teachers, paraeducators, school-based therapists, tutors, support staff, early childhood educators, and executive search for district leadership.

The company's core technology stack is operational rather than proprietary — it integrates with third-party absence management platforms (Frontline, Red Rover, PowerSchool) for scheduling, data replication, and HRIS synchronization. The most differentiated internal asset is the LEARN Standards framework launched in November 2025, a first-of-its-kind professionalization framework establishing competency expectations for substitute teachers and paraeducators. The Kelly Education Learning Pathways™ platform provides training and certification, and the Accelerated Certification and Education (ACE) program enables substitutes to pursue full teaching credentials. School-based pediatric therapy is delivered through Kelly Pediatric Therapy (KPT), a wholly owned subsidiary acquired in 2022 as Pediatric Therapeutic Services and rebranded in March 2026.

Kelly Education generates revenue through managed staffing service fees paid by K-12 school districts for placed educators and related workforce services. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales with consultative, multi-stakeholder engagement at district leadership level, supported by dedicated onsite account teams (recruiters, onboarders, account managers, talent care advisors) embedded in partner districts. Pricing is variable by district, role type, and credentials, with substitute teacher daily rates ranging roughly $80-$150. The company's market position rests on operational scale, multi-decade district relationships, and a broad service portfolio extending from substitute coverage into therapy, tutoring, professional development, and benefits administration.

Name

Kelly Education

Legal name

Kelly Services Inc.

Website

https://kellyeducation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Kelly Education is the largest K-12 education staffing provider in the United States, a division of Kelly Services Inc. serving 10,000+ schools across 1,000+ district partners in 41 states. It provides managed substitute teacher, paraeducator, therapy, and support staff services to public school districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Education Staffing Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education Staffing & Contracted Providers (Paras, Therapists, Specialists) (EDAJAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic Tutoring Services (Subject-Specific & General) (EDAJALAA), K–12 Core Curriculum Small-Group Tutoring Centers (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) (EDANAHAA), K–12 Instructional Design & Curriculum Development Services (EDAGAKAA), Instructional Coaching & Teacher Professional Learning (School-Embedded) (EDAJAFAO)

Keywords

• K-12 education staffing
• Substitute teacher staffing
• Paraeducator staffing services
• School-based therapy staffing
• Education workforce solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Troy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Education Staffing Services: Kelly Education provides managed staffing services to K-12 school districts, supplying substitute teachers, paraeducators, therapists, and support staff. Revenue is generated through service fees based on placed educators. The company handles all aspects of recruiting, hiring, onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, and workforce management for districts. As a subsidiary of Kelly Services (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYW), the company operates as part of Kelly's education workforce solutions division.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kelly Education is the largest U.S. provider of K-12 education staffing, supplying substitute teachers, paraeducators, school-based therapists, tutors, support staff, and early childhood educators to school districts. The company manages the full staffing lifecycle for districts, including recruiting, screening, onboarding, training, scheduling, payroll, benefits administration, and workforce analytics, delivered through dedicated onsite account teams and integrated with leading absence management platforms.

Product overview

Kelly Education is a comprehensive K-12 education staffing and workforce solutions provider, functioning as the nation's largest provider of education talent. The company operates as a platform-and-modules architecture offering core staffing services (Substitute Teacher Staffing, Paraeducator Staffing, School-Based Therapy Services, Tutoring Solutions, Support Staff Staffing, Early Childhood Education Staffing, and Executive Search) supported by a suite of add-on service modules (Kelly Education Learning Pathways™, Absence Management, Payroll and Benefits Administration, Remote Workforce Management, Managed Paraeducator Program, Reporting and Insights, Attracting Talent, Screening and Accreditation, Orientation and Training, Employee Benefits, Professional Development, Rewards and Recognition, Talent Care Team, and Scheduling). The portfolio also includes Kelly Pediatric Therapy® as a sub-brand providing specialized pediatric therapy services, and the Kelly Education Accelerated Certification and Education Program (ACE) for teacher certification pathways. Resources include the Wake Up and Teach Podcast for thought leadership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kelly Pediatric Therapy: Pediatric therapy and behavioral health services brand offering speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral health services across early intervention, school-based, and outpatient care settings. Formerly known as Pediatric Therapeutic Services (PTS) before the 2026 rebrand.

Products and services

• Substitute Teacher Staffing Kelly Education's primary staffing service providing qualified substitute teachers to K-12 school districts. The service includes recruiting, screening, onboarding, background checks, orientation and training, scheduling, payroll, and ongoing management of substitute educators.
• Paraeducator Staffing Staffing service for paraprofessionals who support students with special needs, including those requiring Individual Education Program (IEP) support, also referred to as the Managed Paraeducator Program.
• School-Based Therapy Services Comprehensive pediatric therapy services delivered via Kelly Pediatric Therapy covering speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral health services for school districts.
• Tutoring Solutions Tutoring services for school districts, including high-impact tutoring programs to address learning loss and academic support needs. Kelly Education was selected as a tutoring vendor under Oregon's Early Literacy Success Grants program.
• Support Staff Staffing Staffing for non-instructional school positions including custodians, maintenance personnel, secretaries, and other support roles.
• Early Childhood Education Staffing Staffing solutions for early childhood education positions within K-12 school districts.
• Executive Search Recruitment and executive search services for school district leadership positions.
• Kelly Pediatric Therapy Sub-brand of Kelly Education providing pediatric therapy and behavioral health services including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral health across early intervention, school-based, and outpatient care settings.
• LEARN Standards First-of-its-kind professionalization framework for substitute teachers and paraeducators establishing competency expectations to improve workforce retention, educator engagement, and student outcomes.
• Kelly Education Accelerated Certification and Education Program (ACE) Program enabling substitute teachers to work toward earning teaching certificates or obtaining bachelor's or master's degree requirements through partnerships with select institutions and providers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 42 percentage point fill rate increase
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pediatric Therapeutic Services (PTS) - now Kelly Pediatric TherapycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2022Kelly Education acquired PTS in 2022 and completed strategic integration in 2026 by rebranding the subsidiary as Kelly Pediatric Therapy (KPT). The unified organization addresses severe therapist shortages offering comprehensive pediatric therapy services including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral health services across early intervention, school-based, and outpatient care settings.
• Elevate K-12minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide live virtual teaching to address teacher shortages and keep students engaged. Kelly Education collaborates with Elevate K-12 on innovative staffing solutions.
• Arizona State University (ASU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMesa Public Schools partnered with ASU to develop the Next Education Workforce Model, promoting team-based teaching approaches. Kelly Education supports these initiatives through staffing solutions and workforce management.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Frontline Education: Leading K-12 absence management and HR software platform used by Kelly Education's district customers; a strategic adjacency that could move down-market into managed staffing and compete more directly with Kelly's service layer.

Direct peers

• Source4Teachers: A direct substitute teacher staffing peer operating a managed-service model across multiple U.S. states; competes head-to-head with Kelly Education in K-12 districts for substitute teacher fill-rate performance and account-embedded service delivery.
• ESS (Education Services & Solutions): One of Kelly Education's closest direct competitors in K-12 substitute teacher staffing; operates a managed services model serving thousands of schools across the U.S. with comparable recruiting, onboarding, and account-management offerings.
• Parallel Employment Group: Direct competitor providing substitute teacher, paraeducator, and support staff staffing to K-12 districts, with a comparable managed staffing and embedded account-manager model similar to Kelly Education.
• ProCare Therapy: School-based therapy staffing competitor that overlaps directly with Kelly Pediatric Therapy's speech, occupational, and physical therapy placement services for K-12 districts.
• Edustaff: Nonprofit K-12 substitute staffing organization operating in multiple states; directly competes with Kelly Education in the same managed substitute teacher space, particularly in the Midwest.
• Sunbelt Staffing: Special education and therapy staffing peer that directly competes with Kelly Pediatric Therapy (formerly PTS) in placing school-based therapists, special education teachers, and related roles in K-12 districts.

Broad incumbents

• Aerotek (Allegis Group): Large staffing firm under Allegis Group with an education services line; offers overlapping K-12 staffing capabilities but as part of a much broader staffing portfolio rather than a specialized education provider.
• Insight Global: Large diversified staffing firm with an education services division; competes with Kelly Education in K-12 staffing from a broader portfolio position rather than a dedicated education focus.

Others

• PowerSchool: Dominant K-12 student information system vendor whose absence-management modules integrate with Kelly Education; while not a direct staffing competitor, its data and workflow position make it a strategic enabler and potential future competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kelly Education