Mary Gifford

Biography

Mary Gifford is a senior vice president for K12 Inc and oversees schools managed by the company in eight western states, including Arizona. She previously served as the founder and director of the Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA). AZVA is the state's largest online program and charter school. The school serves 5,000 students in grades K-12 throughout the state. In fall 2010, the school launched an innovative partnership with the Valley of the Sun YMCA to place learning centers in 17 YMCA sites in the greater Phoenix area, Yuma and Flagstaff. Ms. Gifford serves on the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools as the State Superintendent's appointee. She previously served four years on this board as a gubernatorial appointee. Ms.Gifford directed the Goldwater Institute's Center for Market-Based Education for four years. During this time she published one of the country's most comprehensive studies on charter school student achievement, and studies on charter school teacher/administrator salaries, facilities financing, education tax credits, special education, teacher contracting and other education topics. Ms. Gifford also serves as the president of the governing board for Phoenix Advantage Charter School.K12 Inc., a technology-based education company, is America's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school. K12 provides its curriculum and academic services to public and private online schools, traditional classrooms, hybrid school programs, and directly to families. K12 also operates the K12 International AcademyTM, an accredited, diploma-granting online private school serving students in 59 countries plus the U.S. Founded in 2000, K12 has provided over 1.5 million courses - core subjects, AP, world languages, credit recovery, and electives- to more than 200,000 students worldwide. Students graduating from K12 virtual schools have been accepted to hundreds of higher education institutions including many of the nation's top-ranked colleges and universities. In April 2010, K12 joined with Middlebury College to form a new venture called Middlebury Interactive Languages to create and distribute innovative online language courses for pre-college students. In July 2010, K12 acquired KC Distance Learning, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in online learning with brands that provide high quality education products and online school solutions: Aventa LearningTM, The KeystoneTM School and iQ Academies.

Research Interest

 Business and Management..