ARCH's Everyday Learning sold to Tribune Company for $25 million

Everyday Learning Corporation, an ARCH company that publishes University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) elementary materials, has been sold to the Tribune Company for $25 million.

The Evanston-based company was established in 1988 by Argonne National Laboratory/University of Chicago (ARCH) Development Corporation, a not-for-profit company affiliated with the University.

ARCH, headquartered at the Graduate School of Business, oversees the development of commercial ventures based on research at the University and at Argonne National Laboratory. ARCH was founded in 1986 and to date has launched 18 companies. Everyday Learning Corporation is the second of these companies to be sold. Funds from the sale support ARCH's ongoing activities.

"I think the success of Everyday Learning illustrates what ARCH is all about," said Thomas Churchwell, President and CEO of ARCH. "Our intent was not to establish a publishing company for the purpose of holding onto it. What we do is take a research development at the University, surround it with an envelope, the start-up company, and help it grow so that it is something that can be sold.

"With Everyday Learning, we started with a company that had essentially zero sales and watched it grow to where it was doing $13 million to $14 million a year in sales," he said.

The success of Everyday Learning Corporation also illustrates another purpose of ARCH -- to be of educational value to members of the University community who serve as associates for ARCH and provide assistance to the start-up companies, Churchwell said.

"When the problem arose of how to distribute UCSMP materials for Everyday Learning, for example, three students from the Graduate School of Business became involved and really got caught up in their excitement for the product. They learned a great deal about business from the experience of helping establish the groundwork for Everyday Learning," Churchwell said.

Everyday Learning Corporation currently publishes UCSMP materials for elementary-school students from kindergarten through fifth grade. A sixth-grade edition is being field tested by the UCSMP development group and is due to be published by autumn 1996.

The development of the textbooks and supplemental materials for the mathematics program was guided by Max Bell, Professor in Education and Director of the Elementary Materials Component of UCSMP. The curriculum encourages students to begin their study of mathematics in a playful way as they develop an appreciation for the role of mathematics in the world around them.

In addition to the textbook series, Everyday Learning Corporation publishes MathTools for Teachers, a training package developed by Sheila Sconiers, Director of the Teacher Development Component of UCSMP.