Riverside Insights, which offers assessments and data insights on learning abilities and achievements, has recently announced that it has acquired Aperture Education, a leading provider of research-based social and emotional learning (SEL) assessments for K-12 schools.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The addition of Aperture’s SEL solutions to the Riverside portfolio of research-based ability and achievement assessments will help K-12 educators obtain the most valid, reliable, and comprehensive view of each learner, said a press statement.
Aperture Education, founded in 2017, offers an online tool to specifically assess students’ social and emotional learning needs. The Aperture System includes the DESSA suite of strength-based assessments, CASEL-aligned intervention strategies, and robust reporting, all in one easy-to-use digital platform. This system enables education leaders to make strategic, data-based decisions about social and emotional learning needs within their organizations.
Aperture claims to have empowered over 6,500 schools and out-of-school time programs across North America to measure, strengthen, and support social and emotional competence in K-12 youth and educators. It also claims to have supported more than one million students in their social and emotional growth and continues to develop innovative solutions to bring the whole child into focus.
Commenting on the development, Rajib Roy, CEO of Riverside Insights, said,
“With our K-12 solutions for students and educators, Aperture and Riverside have a synergistic goal of enriching one billion lives globally by 2030. With Riverside’s strong research tradition blended with Aperture’s SEL product expertise and vision, we are excited to continue our commitment to creating insights to understand the whole learner. Together, we believe that through our assessments, we can make a greater impact in the lives of students and educators.”
Jessica Adamson, CEO at Aperture Education, added,
“Riverside and Aperture have very similar company cultures. We share an entrepreneurial energy and have fixed our eyes on future growth. With our research roots, we believe the right insights empower educators to better serve students, and together, we believe we can more effectively reach educators to scale our impact.”
According to Adamson, Aperture’s executive leadership will remain in place and its team of roughly 75 employees will grow to more than 400 combined. She also said that its clients, which include local school districts, the New York City Department of Education, and the Connecticut State Department of Education, will not be directly impacted by the acquisition.
Riverside Insights is one of the nation’s leading and most long-standing developers of research-based assessments. Its mission is to provide insights that help elevate potential and enrich the lives of students, clinical patients, employees, and organizations globally. Riverside is a portfolio company of Alpine Investors, a people-driven private equity firm. Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries.
