PDK International

What PDK International does

PDK International (legally Phi Delta Kappa International, Inc.) is a 501(c)-style nonprofit professional education association founded in 1906 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, operating a portfolio of sub-brands that span the full educator career continuum. Educators Rising serves pre-collegiate prospective educators (middle and high school students) through a career pathway curriculum co-developed with NEA and AFT, structured as a one or two-year program organized into five domains with 29 Year 1 and 21 Year 2 lessons; Pi Lambda Theta is an honor society for collegiate preservice and practicing educators; and PDK Association supports career professionals. Supporting assets include Kappan Magazine (100+ years of continuous publication), the PDK Poll (50+ years of annual public opinion research), PDK Prestige (a recognition benefits program), PDK International Travel Program, and a scholarship program awarding 100+ scholarships annually.

The organization generates revenue across five distinct streams: membership dues across multiple tiers (PDK Association, Pi Lambda Theta, Educators Rising, Educators Rising Collegiate, PDK Prestige); donations and philanthropy from foundations including W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Walton Family Foundation, Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, Barr Foundation, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (giving tiers disclosed at $150K+, $50K-$149K, and below); annual conference and event registration (Educators Rising National Conference); curriculum licensing and professional development services sold to school districts; and Kappan Magazine subscriptions. Distribution occurs through direct individual membership, state affiliates and chapters, school district partnerships, the annual national conference, and online learning platforms including the Educators Rising Training Center and EdRising Virtual Campus. Technology architecture is lightweight and content-oriented: members-only curriculum portals, online learning environments, digital magazine distribution, and micro-credentials delivered through a partnership with Digital Promise. The organization reports approximately 20 staff members and engages 20,000+ young people annually through Educators Rising.

Name

PDK International

Legal name

Phi Delta Kappa International, Inc.

Website

https://pdkintl.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1906

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PDK International is a 119-year-old nonprofit professional education association operating Educators Rising, Pi Lambda Theta, PDK Association, Kappan Magazine, and the PDK Poll, serving pre-collegiate through career educators and addressing the national teacher shortage via Grow Your Own pathway programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Professional Association

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Teacher Professional Development & In-Service Training Institutes (EDAHAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB), Career Readiness & College Prep (In-School) (EDAJAFAM), Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA)

Keywords

• Educator professional association
• Teacher pipeline programs
• Education research publications
• Career pathway curriculum
• Educator honor society

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: PDK International generates revenue through various membership tiers including PDK Association, Pi Lambda Theta honor society, Educators Rising (middle/high school), Educators Rising Collegiate, and PDK Prestige. Members receive access to publications, professional development, networking, and other benefits.
2. Donations and Philanthropy: Tax-deductible donations support PDK programs, scholarships, and organizational operations. The organization maintains giving societies including George H. Reavis Giving Society, Heritage Society, and receives support from organizational funders.
3. Conference and Event Revenue: Annual Educators Rising National Conference and other events generate revenue through registration fees and provide GTM touchpoints for membership recruitment and program promotion.
4. Curriculum Sales and Licensing: Educators Rising Curriculum is sold/licensed to schools and districts implementing the program. Includes professional development and training services for teacher leaders.
5. Publications Revenue: Kappan Magazine subscription revenue. The Phi Delta Kappan magazine has been published for over 100 years.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PDK International operates a family of professional education associations supporting the full educator career spectrum. Its core offerings include the Educators Rising career pathway curriculum and student organization for pre-collegiate aspiring teachers, Kappan Magazine (a 100+ year K-12 education research publication), the annual PDK Poll on public attitudes toward schools, Pi Lambda Theta honor society for educators, and PDK Association membership. The organization also runs the annual Educators Rising National Conference, scholarship programs, and Grow Your Own teacher pipeline initiatives for schools and districts.

Product overview

PDK International operates as a family of associations supporting the full spectrum of the education profession. The core product portfolio centers on Educators Rising (a career pathway curriculum and student organization for aspiring teachers), Kappan Magazine (professional publication for K-12 education), and the PDK Poll (annual public opinion research). These are complemented by Pi Lambda Theta honor society, PDK Association membership, PDK Prestige recognition benefits, Educators Rising Collegiate, scholarship programs, professional development webinars, micro-credentials through Digital Promise partnership, and the Teaching Fundamentals modules for small-group instruction. The organization also runs the annual Educators Rising National Conference and produces the 'There's Power in Teaching' podcast. The main digital product is the Educators Rising Curriculum, a customizable one or two-year program with structured lesson materials organized into domains (You, Your Students, Your Classroom, Your Community, Your Profession) and units, available through a members-only portal with implementation support resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educators Rising Curriculum A career pathway curriculum for high school and college students interested in teaching, implemented as elective courses or a CTE program of study. Sold and licensed to schools and districts implementing the program, with implementation support and training services.
• Kappan Magazine Professional magazine publishing articles about K-12 educational research, practice, and policy, published for over 100 years. Available to members and via subscription, serving educators, graduate students, administrators, university faculty, and policymakers.
• PDK Poll Annual public opinion poll examining attitudes toward public schools, conducted for over 50 years as an independent, unbiased public resource. Results are free to access and used by researchers, educators, and policy makers.
• Educators Rising (student organization) Career and student organization guiding young people from high school through college into teaching careers. Formerly Future Educators Association, rebranded in 2015. Engages 20,000+ young people annually through chapters, national competitions, and clinical experiences.
• Pi Lambda Theta Honor society for preservice and practicing educators, acquired by PDK International in 2010. Recognizes outstanding educators through membership and benefits.
• PDK Association Membership Membership organization growing and connecting leaders in education within the PDK family of associations. Members receive access to publications, professional development, networking, and other benefits.
• PDK Prestige Benefits program for educators recognized for excellence in the teaching profession, offering member benefits and recognition services.
• Educators Rising Collegiate Program supporting current and aspiring educators at the college level on their path to teaching careers.
• PDK Scholarship Program Awards over 100 scholarships annually to high school students, college students, and individuals pursuing advanced degrees in education.
• Educators Rising National Conference Annual national conference for Educators Rising members and stakeholders, generating registration revenue and serving as a key channel for member engagement and program promotion.
• Scalable Systems Solutions (S3) Initiative to affect teaching and learning in classrooms through thoughtful adaptive implementation of ideas and solutions.
• PDK International Travel Program Travel program offered to PDK members providing international and domestic travel opportunities tied to the educator community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ young people engaged annually through Educators Rising program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Education Association (NEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-developer of Educators Rising Curriculum and supporter at $25,000-$49,999 level. NEA's research identified 'desire to work with young people' as the top reason teachers join and remain in the profession.
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-developer of Educators Rising Curriculum, providing support for the career pathway program for students interested in teaching.
• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024State education department supporter at $50,000-$149,999 level for PDK programs.
• Forrest T. Jones & Chapter, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Supporting organization at $10,000-$24,999 level.
• National Board for Professional Teaching StandardscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Developed Educators Rising Standards via professional consensus model modeled after NBPTS standards development process.
• Council of Chief State School OfficersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Katharine Oliver serves as advisor to Education Strategy Group; PDK engages with CCSSO through various initiatives.
• Alliance for Excellent EducationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Deborah Delisle, PDK Board Chair, serves as president and CEO of All4Ed, creating strategic alignment.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ASCD: ASCD is a professional educator association serving teachers, administrators, and policymakers — directly comparable to PDK Association. PDK Board Chair Deborah Delisle previously served as ASCD's Executive Director and CEO, evidencing direct overlap in mission and member base.
• Learning Forward: Learning Forward is a nonprofit professional association focused on professional learning for educators, overlapping heavily with PDK's professional development and in-service training mission.
• Kappa Delta Pi: Kappa Delta Pi is an honor society for educators — a direct analog to PDK's Pi Lambda Theta division. Both compete for preservice and practicing educator recognition and membership in the same segment.
• Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed): All4Ed is a Washington-based education policy and advocacy organization — closely aligned with PDK's Kappan and PDK Poll policy function, and led by PDK Board Chair Deborah Delisle.

Broad incumbents

• National Education Association (NEA): NEA is the largest US teacher union and a co-developer of PDK's Educators Rising Curriculum. It serves an overlapping educator constituency through its own professional development and member-benefit offerings.
• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): NBPTS sets national teaching standards and runs National Board Certification. It is a strategic PDK partner (built the Educators Rising Standards) and competes for the same educator recognition and policy-influence space at a national scale.
• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): CCSSO is a nonpartisan association of state education chiefs that influences teacher policy and standards — comparable in policy reach to PDK's advocacy and research outputs (Kappan, PDK Poll).
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT): AFT is the second major US teacher union and a co-developer of Educators Rising. It overlaps with PDK on teacher pipeline, professional development, and member services at a national scale.

Emerging players

• Teach For America: Teach For America addresses teacher pipeline challenges through an alternative route into teaching — adjacent to Educators Rising's Grow Your Own approach and competing for the same policy attention and foundation dollars.

Others

• XQ Institute: XQ Institute focuses on high school redesign and teacher preparation innovation. PDK's incoming CEO (Jeanie Lee) and Chief of Staff (Zoe Lewis) both came from XQ, evidencing direct operational and strategic overlap in teacher pathway work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/pdkintl
• Facebookfacebook.com/pdkintl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/phi-delta-kappa-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 PDK International