Professional Development Institute

What Professional Development Institute does

Professional Development Institute (PDI), founded in 1997 by Connie Ryan and headquartered in Irvine, California, is a privately held online course provider specializing in graduate-level professional development for K-12 teachers. The company delivers self-paced online courses through a Desire2Learn-based learning management system at pdicourses.com, with all content authored by experienced classroom teachers and offered in a standardized six-unit format that can be completed in as few as three weeks or up to nine months from enrollment. The core product catalog spans social-emotional learning, executive function skills, science of reading, instructional technology, and paraprofessional development, and is supported by three completion documentation options: degree-eligible graduate credit through the American College of Education (ACE), continuing education credit through UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, and an internal PDI Grade Report for in-service hours.

PDI generates revenue on a pay-as-you-go, per-course basis with no subscription or district licensing disclosed: teachers pay $124 for course-only, $299 for UCSD credit, or $335 for ACE credit, with periodic promotional discounts. The go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer via the webteaching.com storefront, complemented by content marketing, email campaigns, and organic social; a secondary district outreach motion is managed by a Director of School District Marketing who secures state PD approvals. In October 2025, PDI was acquired by K12 Coalition alongside Keys to Literacy, integrating the company into a portfolio serving over 500 districts and 380,000 educators. PDI does not expose a public API, does not employ AI-generated content, and operates with a 1–10 employee core team, making it a lean, content-driven niche education business now positioned within a larger K-12 services roll-up.

Name

Professional Development Institute

Legal name

Professional Development Institute, LLC

Website

https://webteaching.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Professional Development Institute is an Irvine-based online course provider that delivers graduate-level professional development for K-12 teachers via a self-paced LMS, with accredited credit options through ACE and UC San Diego. Founded in 1997 and acquired by K12 Coalition in October 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Professional Development Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Teacher Education Universities (Licensure & M.Ed.) (EDAHALAG)

Keywords

• Online teacher training
• Professional development courses
• Graduate-level education credit
• K-12 educator training
• Continuing education for teachers

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course with ACE Credit: Graduate-level, degree-eligible credit through American College of Education. Each course offers 3 semester units of graduate credit that can be applied toward advanced degree programs (up to 9 units).
2. Course with UCSD Credit: Graduate-level continuing education credit through University of California San Diego Division of Extended Studies. Each course offers 3.33 semester units (5 quarter units).
3. Course Only (In-Service Hours): No university credit awarded; courses provide 45 professional development/in-service hours. Used to satisfy employer, district, or state professional development requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Professional Development Institute provides online professional development courses for K-12 teachers, fully delivered remotely through its learning management system with flexible 3-week to 9-month completion timelines. The core offering is a standardized six-unit graduate-level course catalog covering topics such as social-emotional learning, executive function, science of reading, and technology integration. Each course can be paired with documentation options including degree-eligible credit through the American College of Education, continuing education credit through UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, or in-service hours only.

Product overview

Professional Development Institute (PDI) offers a comprehensive portfolio of online professional development courses for K-12 teachers, organized as a core course catalog supplemented by specialized sub-brands. The primary offering is the Online Professional Development Courses program, which provides graduate-level courses in a flexible, self-paced format with a consistent six-unit structure. PDI's courses are organized into sub-categories including Social-Emotional Learning Courses, Executive Function Skills Courses, Science of Reading Courses, Technology Integration Courses, and Paraprofessional Courses. Each course can be paired with one of three documentation options: ACE Credit (degree-eligible graduate credit through American College of Education), UCSD Credit (graduate-level continuing education credit through UC San Diego), or PDI Grade Report (official transcript when university credit is not required). The company also provides supplementary resources including a professional development rubric and an educational blog. PDI does not offer an API or any AI-powered features, instead emphasizing human-centered content developed by experienced classroom teachers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Professional Development Courses for Teachers PDI's core offering of graduate-level online professional development courses for K-12 teachers, delivered fully online with flexible completion timelines of 3 weeks to 9 months. All courses follow a consistent six-unit format and provide practical, classroom-ready strategies. Available with optional university credit through ACE or UCSD, or as in-service hours only.
• Paraprofessional Courses Specialized online courses designed for paraprofessionals and teaching assistants working in educational settings, providing professional development tailored to their specific roles and supporting career advancement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 345,000+ teachers trained globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• K12 CoalitionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025K12 Coalition acquired Professional Development Institute along with Keys to Literacy to expand educational services and address literacy and teacher training needs. The acquisitions support over 500 districts and 380,000 educators, aiming to improve student outcomes and teacher retention.
• American College of Education (ACE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDI partners with American College of Education to offer graduate-level, degree-eligible credit for all online courses. Up to 9 units of PDI credit can be applied toward an advanced degree at ACE. ACE is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
• University of California San Diego Division of Extended StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPDI partners with UCSD Division of Extended Studies (ranked in top ten universities in the US) to offer graduate-level continuing education credit for all PDI courses. UCSD is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Instructors are approved as adjunct professors by UCSD.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Advancement Courses: Advancement Courses offers self-paced online PD courses for K-12 educators with graduate credit through partner universities, the closest like-for-like competitor to PDI's ACE/UCSD model and price points.
• Alludo: Alludo (formerly MyPearsonLab/LearnFit) sells online PD micro-courses for K-12 teachers, addressing the same continuing-education and license renewal use cases as PDI.
• Learners Edge: Learners Edge provides self-paced online graduate-level PD courses for teachers with university credit, overlapping PDI on price, audience, and asynchronous delivery model.
• Teaching Channel: Teaching Channel offers online video-based PD courses for educators, often with university credit, serving the same teacher professional development segment as PDI.
• ed2go: ed2go (a Cengage brand) sells online continuing education and teacher PD courses through college and university partnerships, directly mirroring PDI's institution-credit distribution strategy.
• PBS TeacherLine: PBS TeacherLine delivers online continuing education courses for teachers with university credit options, targeting the same K-12 teacher audience via a similar self-paced, district-friendly format.

Broad incumbents

• Frontline Education: Frontline provides a broad K-12 administration and professional development suite (including Frontline PD) that competes with PDI for district-level PD contracts and bundles learning management with HR/finance.
• Solution Tree: Solution Tree is a larger, well-established PD publisher and event provider for K-12 educators, offering in-person and online PD that overlaps with PDI's catalog in instructional strategy and leadership topics.

Emerging players

• Fresno Pacific University Continuing Education: Fresno Pacific's Continuing Education arm provides self-paced graduate-level PD courses for K-12 educators, a regional higher-ed player with a comparable credit-bearing model to PDI's university partner channel.
• University of Phoenix Continuing Education: University of Phoenix offers online continuing education and credit-bearing PD courses for K-12 teachers through its College of Education, overlapping PDI's university-credit, self-paced delivery approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/pdistars
• Facebookfacebook.com/Professional-Development-Institute-100063568599279
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/professional-development-institute-k12-teachers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Professional Development Institute