Bureau of Education & Research

What Bureau of Education & Research does

Bureau of Education & Research (BER) is a privately-held professional development company, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, that delivers staff-development training to K-12 educators across the United States and Canada. The company operates four core product lines: live instructor-led events (in-person and via Zoom), on-demand self-paced online courses, on-site training delivered at school and district sites (including multi-day institutes, train-the-trainer programs, and 2-day conferences), and PD Resource Kit streaming-video subscriptions sold to schools for internal use. Underlying technology is a conventional web-based LMS with Zoom integration for live events, streaming video delivery for resource kits, 90-day access windows for on-demand courses, and integration with state credentialing systems. BER also offers a graduate-credit pathway (up to 4 semester hours at $70/credit) via a partnership with University of Massachusetts Global, alongside CEU approvals from AOTA, ASHA, the California Board of Registered Nursing, and multiple state education departments.

BER's revenue model blends four streams: one-time individual purchases of on-demand courses ($169 each) and live event registrations ($295), recurring multi-year streaming subscriptions for PD Resource Kits ($145 to $2,995 depending on kit count and term), and quote-based on-site professional services for districts. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer self-serve e-commerce through ber.org for individual educators, plus a field sales motion for on-site and large subscription contracts with school districts. Customers are segmented by role — K-12 teachers (primary), special education teachers and specialists (primary), speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school nurses, and school administrators (secondary) — with the value proposition centered on practical, classroom-ready strategies from practicing-educator presenters, multiple delivery formats, CEU/credit options, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Name

Bureau of Education & Research

Legal name

Bureau of Education and Research

Website

https://ber.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bureau of Education & Research is a Bellevue, WA-based private professional development company, founded in 1976, that delivers live, on-demand, and on-site training plus streaming PD resource kits to K-12 educators across the U.S. and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education and Training Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional Development for Educators (Dyslexia/LD Training) (EDAKAJAK)

Keywords

• Professional development training
• K-12 educator training
• Continuing education credits
• Teacher professional development
• Online PD courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellevue

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. On-Demand Online Course Sales: Individual educators purchase self-paced online courses at $169 per course. Courses provide approximately 5-6 hours of content with optional graduate credits ($70/credit) and professional organization CEUs available for additional fees. Group discounts are available for school and district purchases.
2. Live Online Event Registration: Educators register for live instructor-led events at $295 per registration. Events include comprehensive digital resource handbooks and eligibility for CEUs and graduate-level credits. Recorded versions of live events are also available for purchase.
3. PD Resource Kit Subscriptions: Annual and multi-year streaming video subscriptions for schools and districts to conduct their own professional development. Pricing ranges from $145 for 1-year single kit streaming to discounted package deals (e.g., $1,995-$2,995 for literacy套装).
4. On-Site Training Services: School districts and schools contract BER to bring presenters to their location for in-person professional development. Customized multi-day institutes, train-the-trainer programs, and conferences are offered. Pricing is quote-based based on audience size, topic, and format.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bureau of Education & Research (BER) delivers professional development (PD) training to K-12 educators through multiple formats: live in-person seminars, live online events via Zoom, recorded events, self-paced on-demand online courses, on-site training brought to school locations, train-the-trainer institutes, multi-presenter conferences, and PD Resource Kit streaming video subscriptions. Offerings are credit-bearing, providing state CEUs/clock hours, graduate-level credits through University of Massachusetts Global, and professional organization CEUs from AOTA, ASHA, and the California Board of Registered Nursing. All programs are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Product overview

Bureau of Education & Research (BER) is a provider of professional development for K-12 educators offering multiple delivery formats: Live PD Events (in-person seminars and conferences), Recorded PD Events (pre-recorded online courses), On-Demand PD Courses (self-paced online courses with 100+ topics), On-Site PD (at-school training), Train-the-Trainer Institutes (multi-day programs to train internal trainers), 2 Day Conferences (multi-presenter events), PD Resource Kits (streaming video training materials), and Customized Programs (tailored training). The offerings span topics including Literacy, Math, Science, Special Education, ELL, Technology, AI integration, and various specialist areas like Speech-Language Therapy and School Nursing. Credits available include State CEUs, Graduate-level credit through University of Massachusetts Global, and professional organization CEUs from AOTA, ASHA, and California Board of Registered Nursing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live PD Events In-person professional development seminars and conferences led by national trainers for K-12 educators, providing practical classroom strategies, digital resource handbooks, and eligibility for CEUs and graduate-level credits.
• Recorded PD Events Pre-recorded online versions of BER seminars that participants can take at their convenience, with 90-day access to the course and the full digital resource handbook.
• On-Demand PD Courses Self-paced online courses with over 100 titles covering Literacy, Math, Science, Special Education, SLP and OT, and School Nursing; each course takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and offers 90-day access with optional graduate credit and CEUs.
• On-Site PD BER brings presenters to school or district locations for in-person or live online PD, with options for one-day seminars, multi-day institutes, train-the-trainer programs, and customized conferences; quote-based pricing.
• Train-the-Trainer Institutes Multi-day national institutes that train school or district staff to become skilled trainers for their peers, including a three-year subscription to a complete streaming video training package.
• 2 Day Conferences Two-day, multi-presenter conferences with break-out sessions within a single topic area, bringing up to three BER presenters to a school or district site.
• PD Resource Kits Streaming video training kits for schools and districts to conduct their own internal professional development, including model teaching strategy videos, comprehensive facilitator's guides, and reproducible participant handouts; available as 1-year or 3-year subscriptions and as discounted topic packages.
• Customized Programs Tailored PD programs designed for specific school or district needs, including customized multi-day institutes, train-the-trainer programs, and conferences on topics chosen by the customer.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants receive 5 state-approved CEUs per day of attendance
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Massachusetts GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBER partners with University of Massachusetts Global (UMass Global), a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts accredited by WASC, to offer graduate-level professional development credits. Participants can earn up to 4 semester hours of graduate credit upon completion of follow-up practicum projects for $70 per credit. UMass Global also offers the credits through their School of Extended Education.
• American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBER is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development (Provider #6353). BER's In-Person, Live Online, and Recorded Version programs are approved for .5 CEUs/5 Contact Hours per day of attendance for occupational therapists seeking AOTA CEUs.
• California Board of Registered NursingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBER is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider #CEP 15144) to offer continuing education activities for school nursing. 5 contact hours per day of attendance for RN/LPN maintenance of certification/license. The approval is accepted by numerous additional states.
• State Education Departments (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBER maintains approvals from state education departments across the U.S. for CEUs/clock hours including Washington, Texas, New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and many others. Specific providers include NEWESD 101 for Washington clock hours, Dominican University for Illinois PD clock hours, and Eastern Michigan University for Michigan SCECH.
• ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBER offers ASHA CEUs for speech-language pathologists attending certain programs. ASHA CEU availability is indicated on specific program brochures and web pages.
• School Districts (Various)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSchool districts act as intermediaries, purchasing BER training for their educators. Districts approve CEU/inservice credit, coordinate scheduling, and facilitate group registrations for on-site, live online, and on-demand training.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Solution Tree: Solution Tree is a leading K-12 professional development provider offering in-person conferences, on-site training, and books around instructional strategies (PLC, assessment, behavior), directly competing with BER for the same school district and individual educator budgets.
• Corwin: Corwin provides K-12 professional development, books, and on-site services for teachers and leaders, with overlapping topics in literacy, equity, and instruction; sells through similar individual and district channels and competes head-on for in-service and conference dollars.
• Learning Forward: Learning Forward is the professional association dedicated exclusively to K-12 professional learning, offering standards, conferences, and on-site consulting that compete with BER's training and institute offerings for school-system PD budgets.
• Advancement Courses: Advancement Courses sells self-paced online PD courses for K-12 educators with graduate-credit and CEU options through partner universities, directly mirroring BER's on-demand course + University of Massachusetts Global credit model.
• Marzano Resources: Marzano Resources delivers K-12 PD (in-person, online, on-site) around instructional frameworks authored by Robert Marzano, with similar topics (assessment, instruction, leadership) and the same expert-practitioner presenter positioning as BER.

Broad incumbents

• ASCD: ASCD is the largest professional association for educators, offering conferences, books, online courses, and on-site PD across the full K-12 curriculum spectrum; broader portfolio than BER but directly comparable membership-based PD delivery model.
• Frontline Education: Frontline is a broad K-12 operations platform whose Frontline Insights PD/Professional Learning module offers on-site and online educator training; a broader incumbent with overlapping but not dedicated K-12 PD focus.
• Scholastic Education: Scholastic Education sells curriculum-anchored professional development and resources to schools and districts; broader publishing-led company with a PD division that competes for the same literacy-focused K-12 training dollars.

Emerging players

• EdWeb: EdWeb hosts free and low-cost online PD webinars and communities for K-12 educators; an emerging online-only alternative to BER's live and on-demand paid PD courses in the same subject areas.
• BetterLesson: BetterLesson provides K-12 educator coaching, blended PD, and on-demand content, overlapping with BER's on-demand and on-site training in instructional strategy and coaching for teachers and leaders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bureauofed
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BERStaffDevelopment
• Facebookfacebook.com/bureauofeducationandresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bureau-of-education-&-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/bureauofed
• Pinterestpinterest.com/bureauofed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Bureau of Education & Research