What Rourke Educational Media does

Rourke Educational Media is a US-based educational publisher founded in 1980 and headquartered in Vero Beach, Florida. The company produces standards-aligned fiction and non-fiction titles, illustrated biographies, bilingual content, and social emotional learning (SEL) materials covering PreK through High School grade levels. Distinctive series include Carl Can/Katie Can (early elementary fiction introducing basic ASL themes), Leaders Like Us (illustrated biographies for grades 3-6), and Travel To... (geography and cultural exploration for grades 6-High School). The company also operates a Classroom Connections: Teacher Notes hub providing supplementary lesson-planning resources correlated with its books.

Rourke operates as a wholly-owned division of Carson Dellosa Education, a privately-held educational products company. Its core technology is content publishing — curating and producing educational texts aligned to state and national standards with attention to diverse representation. The business model is one-time-sale licensing of physical and digital books, workbooks, and teaching materials, sold through the parent company's carsondellosa.com e-commerce storefront and a dedicated School Solutions channel supporting bulk institutional purchasing, purchase orders, and district-level sales. Marketing is conducted via the parent's multi-channel infrastructure including organic social (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube), email newsletters, and a free resources library.

The company targets teachers, homeschool families, librarians, and school districts, with primary segments being classroom educators and K-12 schools. Rourke maintains its distinct brand identity within the Carson Dellosa portfolio, leveraging the parent's distribution, e-commerce, and marketing scale rather than operating its own direct sales force. The company is led by James Colandrea as Owner, President, and CEO, with no disclosed independent leadership team data.

Name

Rourke Educational Media

Legal name

Rourke Educational Media

Website

https://rourkeeducationalmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rourke Educational Media is a US-based educational publisher (founded 1980) operating as a division of Carson Dellosa Education, producing standards-aligned fiction, non-fiction, bilingual, and SEL books for PreK through High School, sold via Carson Dellosa's e-commerce and school solutions channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Educational & Curriculum Publishing (MPAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE), Children’s Reference & Informational Series Publishing (MPAJAFAN), Core Subject Textbooks (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) (EDAGAAAA)

Keywords

• Educational publishing
• Children's books
• K-12 curriculum
• Reading materials
• Literacy resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Vero Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Book and Educational Material Sales: Rourke Educational Media generates revenue through the sale of physical and digital educational books, workbooks, and teaching materials across various subjects and grade levels. The company operates under the Carson Dellosa Education parent company, selling directly to teachers, families, schools, and through the carsondellosa.com e-commerce platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rourke Educational Media publishes and sells standards-aligned fiction and non-fiction children's books and educational materials spanning PreK through High School. The company produces curriculum-aligned content across subjects including science, math, social studies, Spanish/bilingual literacy, biographies, high-interest/Hi-Lo readers, and social emotional learning, alongside supplementary teacher resources.

Product overview

Rourke Educational Media is an educational publishing company (a division of Carson Dellosa Education) founded in 1980, offering a portfolio of fiction and non-fiction titles designed to support reading across all grade levels. The portfolio includes core subject offerings in Science & Math, Social Studies, Spanish and Bilingual content, Biography, High Interest & Hi/Lo, and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) materials. The product line is organized by grade levels from PreK through High School and features several branded series including Carl Can/Katie Can (fiction with ASL themes for PreK-2), Leaders Like Us (illustrated biographies for grades 3-6), and Travel To... (geography and cultural exploration for grades 6-High School). Supplementary resources include Classroom Connections: Teacher Notes for correlating materials with books.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carl Can: Children's fiction series featuring characters Katie and Carl, introducing basic ASL and friendship themes for grades PreK-2.
• Leaders Like Us
• Travel To...

Products and services

• Rourke Educational Media Fiction Engaging fiction titles designed to support reading on various levels, featuring diverse characters and stories for young learners.
• Rourke Educational Media Non-Fiction Non-fiction educational titles covering various subjects aligned to state and national standards, representative and respectful of diverse readers.
• Rourke Educational Media Biography Illustrated biography series featuring important leaders in science, arts, social justice, and other fields, targeted at grades 3-6.
• Rourke Educational Media Spanish and Bilingual Spanish and bilingual educational content supporting emergent bilingual learners, aligned to support bilingual literacy.
• Rourke Educational Media Science & Math Science and mathematics educational materials covering STEM and STEAM topics for various grade levels.
• Rourke Educational Media Social Studies Social studies content covering history, cultural studies, and global citizenship themes for various grade levels.
• Rourke Educational Media High Interest & Hi/Lo High interest and high-low reading level content designed to engage reluctant readers with compelling topics.
• Rourke Educational Media SEL, Family & Community Social emotional learning resources covering topics like friendship, kindness, and family and community engagement.
• Carl Can / Katie Can Series Early elementary fiction series introducing basic ASL themes and friendship concepts for grades PreK-2.
• Leaders Like Us Series Illustrated biography series featuring important leaders in science, arts, social justice, and other fields for grades 3-6.
• Travel To... Series Geography and cultural exploration series highlighting the importance of place and time for grades 6 through High School.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Carson Dellosa EducationcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerRourke Educational Media operates as a division and brand of Carson Dellosa Education. The relationship involves publishing and distribution through Carson Dellosa's infrastructure, including e-commerce platform, school solutions, and marketing channels. Rourke maintains its distinct brand identity while leveraging Carson Dellosa's distribution network and customer base.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic Corporation: Scholastic is the largest U.S. children's book and K-12 book club publisher; comparable because it operates school-channel distribution for children's informational, fiction, and leveled readers that overlap directly with Rourke's PreK-12 catalog.
• National Geographic Kids: National Geographic Kids is a major children's nonfiction and reference brand sold through book channels and schools; competes with Rourke for nonfiction shelf space in libraries, classrooms, and home learning environments.
• Pearson Education: Pearson is a global K-12 publisher with extensive leveled readers, intervention programs, and curriculum-aligned texts; shares the standards-aligned PreK-12 content space with Rourke albeit at much larger scale.
• McGraw Hill Education: McGraw Hill produces K-12 instructional materials and trade titles across ELA, science, and social studies; competes at the higher end of the K-12 curriculum and leveled reader market Rourke addresses.

Direct peers

• Benchmark Education Company: Benchmark Education produces leveled and informational K-8 texts including early readers, nonfiction series, and teacher resources, directly competing with Rourke's fiction/non-fiction leveled readers and Classroom Connections supplements.
• Teacher Created Materials: Teacher Created Materials publishes standards-aligned fiction and nonfiction K-8 books with teacher resource hubs; closely mirrors Rourke's standards-aligned, grade-banded informational texts and supplementary teacher materials.
• Rosen Publishing: Rosen Publishing produces children's and young adult nonfiction across curriculum subjects with strong library and school distribution; comparable to Rourke's nonfiction, biography, and reference series marketed to librarians and schools.
• Capstone (Capstone Publishing): Capstone publishes children's and educational nonfiction, leveled readers, and library-bound series across K-8 grades; overlaps with Rourke's nonfiction, biography, and informational series for school and library buyers.
• Cherry Lake Publishing / Sleeping Bear Press: Cherry Lake publishes K-12 nonfiction and educational series covering STEM, social studies, and biography; directly comparable subject mix and grade-banded publishing model to Rourke Educational Media.
• Jump!, Inc. Jump! publishes leveled and nonfiction early-reader series through school and library channels with grade-banded, standards-aligned design; directly comparable to Rourke's informational and leveled reader series for grades PreK-5.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RourkeBooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rourke-educational-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Rourke Educational Media