Press Releases

Jim Hermens Joins Spectrum K12 School Solutions As Vice President Of Product Management

Hermens Will Oversee All Product Management Activities

TOWSON, MD. – Oct. 3, 2006 – Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc., the leading provider of comprehensive management solutions for special populations in K-12 education, today announced that Jim Hermens has been appointed vice president, product management. In this position, Hermens will oversee all product management activities, including future releases of the ENCORE!® suite of software and service solutions for special populations in K-12 education. Hermens will report directly to Spectrum K12 President and CEO Allison Duquette.

“Spectrum K12’s mission is to provide K-12 schools with the foundation for managing all phases of the IEP process for special populations so that educators can spend less time on paperwork and more time in the classroom focusing on improving student learning and performance,” said Duquette. “The addition of Jim to our senior management team will ensure that Spectrum K12’s record of innovative, market leading solutions continues to uniquely serve educators’ needs.”

"I am tremendously excited to be joining the market leading provider of software applications and professional development for teachers and administrators of special populations. Spectrum K12’s record of product innovation has been recognized by its customers and industry leaders alike. The combination of innovative products and a customer base ranging from districts of 250 to over 250,000 students perfectly positions Spectrum K12 for further expansion and rapid growth,” said Jim Hermens.

Most recently Hermens served as Senior Vice President, Global Services at Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of e-Education enterprise software applications and services. In that position he oversaw a considerable broadening and growth of the training, hosting and consulting solutions offered in support of higher education and K-12 deployments of Blackboard’s software solutions.

Prior to Blackboard, Hermens served as a managing director with Hollinger Digital, the venture capital arm of Sun Times Media Group (formerly Hollinger International), and with Laureate Education (formerly Sylvan Learning Systems). At Laureate, Hermens served as Vice President, Operations for Laureate International Universities, implementing emerging educational and business strategies among the company’s initial university network of institutions in Latin America and Europe.

Hermens holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School. An Air Force and Desert Storm war veteran, Hermens served as a White House military social aide for Presidents Bush (41) and Clinton.

About Spectrum K12 School Solutions

Based in Towson, Md., Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc. helps school districts more effectively manage the individualized learning process for all students receiving special services or interventions. Spectrum K12 works collaboratively with districts of all sizes to deliver scalable, easy-to-use software solutions that lift the burden of paperwork from education professionals so they can focus on the most important part of their work: educating children and improving student achievement.