American School of Correspondence

What American School of Correspondence does

American School of Correspondence is a U.S.-based, not-for-profit distance education institution founded in 1897 that delivers accredited middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12) programs through a hybrid paper-based and online curriculum. The school's core product is a catalog of more than 186 self-paced courses across seven subject categories — English (28), Math (18), Science (35), Social Studies (29), Business/Career/Technical (39), Fine Arts (6), and World Languages (31) — packaged into three commercial offerings: a Middle School Program, a High School Program leading to a diploma accepted by colleges and universities, and Individual Subjects for standalone credit-recovery enrollment. The school's moat is anchored in regulatory accreditation: it was the first correspondence school to achieve regional accreditation, is currently accredited by three accrediting bodies, and is recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education as a non-public high school.

The underlying technology is a self-serve distance-learning platform: students enroll directly through the website, receive bundled textbooks and study materials, and access course content and instructor feedback through an Online Student Center. There is no mobile app, no public API, and no AI-driven adaptive features documented in the input. Distribution runs through two channels: a direct-to-consumer self-enrollment model with monthly tuition payment plans targeting individual homeschool families and credit-recovery students, and a B2B channel in which thousands of U.S. high schools purchase individual courses for student credit recovery.

The business model is recurring subscription tuition from individual learners plus institutional course sales to high schools, with all instructional materials included in the published (but not publicly disclosed) price. As a not-for-profit, the institution reinvests tuition into operations rather than distributing profit. Marketing is conducted through the company website, a student blog, and a Facebook page, with student testimonials serving as the primary conversion asset. There is no disclosed revenue, enrollment, headcount, or funding data, and no evidence of venture capital, private equity ownership, M&A activity, or recent leadership changes.

Name

American School of Correspondence

Legal name

American School of Correspondence

Website

https://americanschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

American School of Correspondence is a U.S. not-for-profit distance education institution founded in 1897, offering accredited self-paced middle and high school programs and individual courses (grades 6-12) to homeschool families, credit-recovery students, and partner high schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Distance Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International/Global Curriculum Schools (IB, Cambridge, etc.) (EDAJABAG)

Keywords

• Distance education
• Correspondence school
• Homeschool curriculum
• Secondary education
• Self-paced learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified in source

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, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tuition Revenue: The not-for-profit institution generates revenue through tuition fees for its middle school and high school programs. Monthly payment plans are available for full-year programs. All textbooks and study materials are included at no additional cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

American School of Correspondence delivers accredited distance education for grades 6-12 through a hybrid paper-based and online, self-paced curriculum. Its core offerings are the Middle School Program (grades 6-8), the High School Program (grades 9-12) that culminates in a regionally accredited diploma accepted by colleges and universities, and Individual Subjects for standalone course enrollment used by homeschool families and high schools for credit recovery.

Product overview

American School of Correspondence is an accredited distance education institution founded in 1897, offering a unified platform combining paper-based and online curriculum. The core products consist of the Middle School Program (grades 6-8), the High School Program (grades 9-12) leading to a diploma accepted by colleges and universities, and Individual Subjects for standalone course enrollment. Together, these programs provide more than 100 self-paced courses across 7 subject categories: English (28 courses), Math (18 courses), Science (35 courses), Social Studies (29 courses), Business/Career/Technical (39 courses), Fine Arts (6 courses), and World Languages (31 courses). The Online Learning Platform serves as the digital delivery mechanism, while thousands of high schools use American School's courses for credit recovery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Middle School Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Diploma accepted by colleges and universities
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)coreOthersOne of three accrediting bodies that accredit American School. The school was the first correspondence school to become regionally accredited. DETC accreditation ensures educational quality standards are met.
• North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI)coreOthersRegional accreditation body providing NCA CASI accreditation to American School, validating the institution meets high standards for educational quality.
• Illinois State Board of EducationcoreOthersState education authority that recognizes American School as a non-public high school, enabling the school's diploma to be accepted by colleges and universities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Penn Foster: Accredited distance-learning institution offering online high school diploma and individual subject programs; competes with American School in the self-paced, anytime-enrollment adult and teen distance education market.
• Connections Academy: Online K-12 public charter school operator (Stride subsidiary) offering accredited virtual schooling for grades K-12; directly competes for homeschool and full-time online learners seeking an accredited diploma.
• James Madison High School: Online high school diploma program under the Penn Foster group offering accredited, self-paced high school courses; competes directly with American School's High School Program for direct-to-consumer enrollment.
• Stride, Inc. (formerly K12 Inc.): Public, equity-backed online K-12 operator offering tuition-based virtual schooling and curriculum; directly competes with American School in online high school diploma and middle school programs for grades 6-12.
• Lincoln Learning Solutions: Online K-12 curriculum and credit recovery provider offering self-paced courses and solutions for schools; competes with American School in the B2B school district channel and in self-paced consumer-facing coursework.
• Calvert Homeschool (Calvert Education): Long-established homeschool curriculum provider offering printable and online courses for K-12; directly comparable to American School's homeschool and individual subject offerings with similar self-paced, accredited positioning.
• National University Virtual High School: Accredited online high school offering college prep, honors, AP, and credit recovery courses; directly competes with American School in the accredited online high school and credit recovery segments.
• Alpha Omega Publications (Monarch, Switched-On): Homeschool and Christian school curriculum publisher offering Monarch (online) and print-based K-12 courses; overlaps with American School in self-paced accredited content and the homeschool customer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Edmentum: Large K-12 online learning provider supplying adaptive curriculum, credit recovery, and virtual schooling to school districts; broader portfolio than American School but overlaps on credit-recovery courses sold to thousands of high schools.

Regional players

• Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS): New Hampshire-based charter virtual school offering accredited online middle and high school courses with flexible pacing; comparable self-paced, accredited model but operates primarily within a single U.S. state.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/americanschoolofcorrespondence
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-school-of-correspondence

Compliance1 record

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 American School of Correspondence