Teaching is one of the world's most important jobs. And it's about much more than preparing students for exams. Education is about supporting students today so they can grow into confident, successful adults tomorrow.

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Unfortunately, many teachers and administrators don't feel respected, or that they have the tools, time or the capacity to do a great job. In response, Ashley Andersen Zantop, CEO at Cambium Learning, says that Cambium is focused on addressing a singular purpose:: 

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“Our purpose at Cambium is to help every teacher and every student feel seen, valued and supported. How can we move the needle?”

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Zantop says that while many tech companies in the education space are built around the technology itself, Cambium is different: it never loses sight of the fact that technology is a tool to solve problems and help people. 

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John Jorgenson, CMO at Cambium, says that the company is committed to living its purpose in every aspect of its business:

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“Helping every teacher and every student feel seen, valued and supported is the reason that we exist. We make sure that everything we do -- from companies we acquire, to products we develop, to people that we hire, to the way we run our business -- remains connected to that purpose.”

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The result, says Jorgenson, is that by staying true to its purpose, the company attracts others who share its values:

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“The beauty is that it’s best for business to focus on how people feel and how Cambium can help them with that. That's going to be what ultimately attracts everybody, whether it's an investor or a customer or an employee, who's looking to figure out what they want to do next with their career.”

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Paying attention to how people feel and acting on it is something that Cambium achieves internally, as well as in meeting the needs of customers. Melissa Yates May, CPO at Cambium says that switching to remote work is one of the ways in which the company has responded to the needs of employees: 

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“We made the decision to go to a remote-first work environment for employees. We received a lot of feedback from employees who felt that they were able to balance their work and life better working remotely and it actually enhanced the way that we were delivering our products and services to our teachers and our students.”

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Yates May says that ensuring staff felt seen, valued and supported has had a positive impact on the business, including by attracting new employees who share the company’s values: 

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“As we got into a remote-first permanent work environment, what we heard back from candidates is that they also want that flexibility and the opportunity to work for a company that values the work they're producing, regardless of where they might be located. From listening to our existing people and the people we want to work with, we will continue to be a remote-first organization and open up those opportunities for everybody.” 

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One example of how Cambium carries this focus and people-centric approach to teachers and administrators is through LETRS, a professional learning solution offered by Cambium's Lexia brand. LETRS is specifically designed to teach teachers how to teach reading based on the science of reading. Andersen Zantop explains the appeal:

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“LETRS delivers both instruction in person and digitally, in real time and asynchronously, when teachers have time to instruct students at all skill levels and to give them the literacy foundations they need in order to become successful readers.”

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It’s an approach that supports the teacher and uses technology to inform and enhance the child’s journey towards better literacy skills. Andersen Zantop says that the difference LETRS can make is profound: 

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“This type of instruction does change education. Teachers come into the classroom feeling confident and able to face the challenges in front of them and to give students the skills they need to succeed. Working together, we give students the ability to be successful.”

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For Jorgenson, the future is an inevitable consequence of today’s actions: 

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“We really only have the present moment. As a brand, we focus on delivering products and solutions and treating our employees in a way that makes the moment right now as meaningful and fruitful as possible. And then we do another moment, and then another and another… that’s how you get to the future.”

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