Imagine Schools

Imagine Schools Inc.

Predecessor	Chancellor Beacon
Formation	1996; 29 years ago (1996)
Founder	Dennis Bakke
Type	501(3)(c) (since 2015)[1]
Tax ID no.	04-3466383[1]
Location	Arlington, Virginia
Services	Charter management organization
Revenue	$50,635,506 (2015)
Website	www.imagineschools.org
33,420 students 3,069 teachers 55 schools(2015)[2]

Imagine Schools is a charter management organization in the United States, operating 55 schools in 9 states. They are K-8, for the most part.[2] In 2015, Imagine schools had enrolled 29,812 students.[3]: 87 

Imagine Schools was founded by Dennis and Eileen Bakke with $155 million of the fortune Dennis had earned as chief executive officer of AES Corporation, a global energy provider which he co-founded in 1981.[4]

History

Beacon Education Management was founded in 1996.[5] By 2008, Imagine had grown to 56 schools.[6]

In 2015, Imagine Schools was ordered to pay a $1 million judgment as part of a self-dealing scheme. As part of a complex arrangement, Imagine Schools had negotiated above market rents for its facilities, which it actually owned through a subsidiary.[7]

Peer group

In 2015, Imagine adopted non-profit tax status.[1] Similar organizations are known as charter management organizations (CMOs). Other large non-profits are KIPP (209 schools) and Cosmos.^[citation needed]

Similar services are provided by for-profit entities known as education management organizations (EMOs). K12 was the largest in the US in 2011–2012.[8] K12 does not manage any brick-and-mortar schools, instead delivering schooling on line.

References

1. "Imagine Schools Inc Form 990 2015". Propublica. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
2. Imagine Annual Report 2015 (PDF). Retrieved 10 November 2017.
3. Woodworth, James L (2017). "Charter Management Organizations 2017" (PDF). Center for Research on Education Outcomes. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
4. Strom, Stephanie (23 April 2010). "For School Company, Issues of Money and Control". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
5. "Chancellor Beacon Academies, Inc. History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
6. Imagine Annual Report 2008 (PDF). Retrieved 10 November 2017.
7. "$1 million judgment against charter school operator". The New York Times. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
8. "Charter School Operators". In Perspective. Retrieved 10 November 2017.