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Imagine Schools

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Imagine Schools Inc.
PredecessorChancellor Beacon
Formation1996; 28 years ago (1996)
FounderDennis Bakke
Type501(3)(c) (since 2015)[1]
04-3466383[1]
Location
  • Arlington, Virginia
ServicesCharter management organization
Revenue (2015)
$50,635,506
Websitewww.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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c "Imagine Schools Inc Form 990 2015". Propublica. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b 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.