Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy

What Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy does

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy (IVSA) is a public-private online education provider operating exclusively in Illinois, founded in 2002 and administered by the Lake County Regional Office of Education 34 (ROE 34). It is the only approved public provider in the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Virtual Course Catalog and holds content copyright through ACCEL Schools LLC, which functions as the operating company. IVSA serves three primary customer segments: K-12 students (full-time and supplemental enrollment), Illinois public school districts (seeking teacher shortage solutions, supplemental courses, and credit recovery), and homeschool families. It has delivered online and virtual learning for over 20 years and offers NCAA- and College Board-accredited courses aligned to Illinois Learning Standards, taught by Illinois-licensed teachers.

IVSA's product portfolio centers on the Full-Time Virtual Academy for grades K-12, which combines live synchronous instruction with self-paced asynchronous content, and a supplemental course catalog of over 200 courses spanning AP, credit recovery, electives, world languages, and CTE pathways. Supporting offerings include the Next Chapter Credit Recovery Program (with dedicated Student Success Coaches), Summer Programs (Summer SPARK, math and reading Bootcamps), Teacher Shortage Solutions for districts, and a District/School Solutions design service. The platform is built on Canvas LMS for course delivery and Maestro SIS for student information management; IVSA holds no proprietary technology, patents, or AI capabilities. FERPA compliance governs student data handling.

Revenue is generated through per-course fees paid by individual families or partner districts, full-time academy tuition, and ISBE reimbursement under the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog (IVCC) program established January 1, 2020. Public school districts can recover course fees from ISBE claims, subject to General Assembly appropriations, effectively making IVSA a zero-cost option for institutional buyers and channeling state funds back into IVSA's course-fee revenue. The go-to-market mixes a direct-to-consumer channel (website self-service registration, including dedicated homeschool pricing) with institutional district/school partnerships, a formal Partner Agreement onboarding process, and an in-house sales motion that proactively targets districts experiencing teacher shortages in world languages, sciences, and higher-level mathematics. The 2020 University of Illinois System Pilot Program further extends the district-side motion through higher-education institutional partnership.

Name

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy

Legal name

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy

Website

https://ivsaschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy is an ISBE-approved public K-12 online education provider administered by Lake County ROE 34 in Illinois. It serves students, school districts, and homeschool families with full-time virtual schooling, 200+ supplemental courses, credit recovery, and teacher shortage solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online K-12 Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

District-Run Virtual Academies & Online Programs (EDAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual School Course Providers (Single-Course/Part-Time Enrollment) (EDAJADAE), Online Credit Recovery & Alternative Pathways (Virtual) (EDAJADAF), Virtual CTE & Career Pathways Programs (K–12) (EDAJADAL)

Keywords

• Online K-12 education
• Virtual schooling
• Supplemental courses
• Credit recovery
• District virtual solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Vernon Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course Fees - Per Course Enrollment: IVSA charges course fees for individual course enrollments. Public schools can receive ISBE reimbursement for course fees through the Illinois Virtual Course Program. Students/families pay directly or through school arrangements.
2. ISBE Reimbursement (Public Schools): Public school districts that enroll students in IVSA courses can request reimbursement from ISBE, subject to appropriations. Schools complete Intent to Apply forms and submit reimbursement claims for courses completed between specific dates.
3. Full-Time Academy Tuition: IVSA offers a full-time virtual academy program serving grades K-12, providing comprehensive online education with daily instruction and support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy (IVSA) is an ISBE-approved online K-12 education provider administered by Lake County ROE 34. It delivers a Full-Time Virtual Academy for grades K-12 with daily live instruction, plus a supplemental course catalog of 200+ online courses covering credit recovery, AP, core curriculum, electives, world languages, and CTE pathways. It also offers district-level solutions including teacher shortage fill-in classes and summer programs, taught by Illinois-licensed teachers and aligned to Illinois Learning Standards.

Product overview

Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy (IVSA) is an ISBE-approved online and virtual school provider administered by Lake County ROE 34, offering a comprehensive platform of educational products and services. The core offerings include the Full-Time Virtual Academy for grades K-12, providing daily real-time support, live instruction, and applied learning options. The Supplemental Solutions platform offers over 200 individual course options including original credit, credit recovery, AP courses, electives, CTE pathways, and world languages. Supporting products include the Next Chapter Credit Recovery Program (a full-time academy option with student success coaching), Summer Programs (Spanish camp, Summer Bootcamp, Traditional Summer School), Teacher Shortage Solutions for districts, and District/School Solutions for partner institutions. The portfolio spans elementary (K-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12) programs, with NCAA and College Board accreditation for applicable courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Summer SPARK: Summer program for skill development
• Summer Bootcamp
• Next Chapter Credit Recovery Program
• Next Chapter

Products and services

• Full-Time Virtual Academy A full-time online public school program for grades K-12 providing daily real-time support, live instruction, and applied learning options, administered by Lake County ROE 34.
• Supplemental Courses Supplemental online course options for districts, schools, and students offering over 200 course options including credit recovery, AP courses, core curriculum, electives, world languages, and more.
• Credit Recovery Online credit recovery courses for grades 9-12 designed for students who need to recover credit due to a previously failed course, aligned to Illinois State Learning Standards, allowing students to test out of previously mastered material via pretest.
• Original Credit Courses Courses for grades K-12 designed for students adding course(s) to their current local school schedule, offered in both synchronous and asynchronous formats.
• Next Chapter Credit Recovery Program Full-time academy program for students needing to recover multiple credits, providing additional support with a Student Success Coach walking students through their Credit Recovery courses.
• Summer Programs Diverse summer programs including Spanish camp, Summer Bootcamp for skill development in math and reading, Credit Recovery options, and Traditional Summer School courses.
• Teacher Shortage Solutions Synchronous and asynchronous instruction options for full classes to address teacher shortages, providing electives, world languages, higher-level math, science, and core courses to districts.
• District/School Solutions Virtual learning options and design services for schools and districts to set up virtual options for students, with no financial obligation for design services.
• Full-Time Online Elementary School (Grades K-5) Online elementary school program supported by state-licensed teachers using interactive course materials and videos, teaching reading, science, mathematics, and developing critical thinking skills.
• Full-Time Online Middle School (Grades 6-8) Online middle school program for grades 6-8 focused on developing critical thinking and problem-solving strategies with a relevant, engaging curriculum.
• Full-Time Online High School (Grades 9-12) Online high school program offering core subjects, honors and AP classes, career readiness courses, CTE pathways, and NCAA-accredited courses.

Named customers3 records

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

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lake County ROE 34coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVSA is administered by the Lake County Regional Office of Education 34 (ROE 34). This governmental relationship establishes IVSA as the official approved public provider in the ISBE Virtual Course Catalog.
• University of Illinois SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Illinois System partners with IVSA through a Pilot Program to help districts overcome staffing challenges by offering students access to high-quality virtual courses with in-person classroom support. Schools can fill hard-to-staff subjects like Spanish, Science, and Mathematics while keeping students on schedule for graduation.
• Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVSA is an approved provider in the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog (IVCC). Public school districts can request reimbursement from ISBE for course fees paid to IVSA, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly.
• NCAAcoreTechnology or IntegrationIVSA courses are accredited by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), allowing student athletes to use IVSA courses for NCAA eligibility.
• College Board (AP)coreTechnology or IntegrationIVSA is an AP Audit approved course provider and offers Advanced Placement courses that are accredited by College Board.
• ACCEL Schools LLCcoreOthersACCEL Schools LLC and its affiliates operate IVSA. The copyright for IVSA content is held by ACCEL Schools LLC.
• Digital Learning Alliance Consortium (DLAC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVSA is a Foundational Member of the Digital Learning Alliance Consortium (DLAC).
• Virtual Learning Alliance (VLLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVSA is a member of the Virtual Learning Alliance, an organization supporting virtual learning providers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edmentum: Established provider of K-12 online curriculum, credit recovery, and adaptive learning tools sold to school districts. Comparable to IVSA in credit recovery and supplemental course offerings but delivers curriculum as a vendor rather than operating schools directly.
• Apex Learning: Provider of online AP, credit recovery, and original credit courses to school districts nationwide. Comparable to IVSA in supplemental online course offerings (especially AP and credit recovery) but operates as a curriculum vendor rather than a public school.
• Stride, Inc. (formerly K12 Inc.): One of the largest U.S. online K-12 education providers, operating tuition-free online public schools and supplemental programs across multiple states. Comparable to IVSA as a direct competitor in online K-12, but at significantly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Pearson Online & Blended Learning: Global education company operating online and blended K-12 learning programs and curriculum services. Comparable to IVSA in online K-12 instructional services but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic scope.

Direct peers

• Connections Academy: Operates tuition-free online public schools for grades K-12 across many U.S. states under partnerships with school districts. Closely comparable to IVSA in product offering (full-time online academy plus supplemental courses) and customer base (school districts and families).
• Florida Virtual School (FLVS): State-funded public virtual school offering individual courses and full-time enrollment to K-12 students in Florida. Directly comparable to IVSA as a public, state-affiliated virtual school provider with a large supplemental course catalog.
• Ohio Virtual Academy: Tuition-free online public charter school serving Ohio K-12 students, offering full-time and supplemental courses. Comparable to IVSA in operating model (public online school, district/state affiliated, K-12 focus).
• Michigan Virtual: Nonprofit online learning provider offering supplemental middle and high school courses to Michigan students and districts. Comparable to IVSA in delivering state-affiliated supplemental virtual courses to schools and families.

Regional players

• National University Virtual K-12 (WGU/NU): University-affiliated programs offering online K-12 pathways in select states, including the University of Illinois System pilot partner relationship with IVSA. Thematically adjacent as a higher-ed-affiliated virtual K-12 player, though operating under a different business model.

Others

• ACCEL Schools: IVSA's parent operating company that manages a portfolio of K-12 schools. Comparable as a network operator of online and brick-and-mortar schools but operates at a wider portfolio level rather than competing with IVSA directly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/illinoisvirtual
• YouTubefacebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fillinoisvirtual%2Fvideos%2F784438667637262%2F&show_text=false&width=560&t=0

Compliance2 records

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 Illinois Virtual Schools & Academy