About
Us
Sunburst
Technology
Sunburst
Technology develops and distributes supplemental curriculum materials
for the school market. Founded in 1972, Sunburst emerged as a market
leader in 1983 by releasing the widely-adopted Voyage of the MIMI
series. Supporting this interdisciplinary, multimedia product with
instructional software, Sunburst built a strong presence in the
ed-tech market by creating stable and reliable programs. Focusing
its business on math and instructional keyboarding programs, Sunburst’s products include such award-winning titles as Type to Learn3, Key Skills, Fraction Attraction, and Tenth Planet Literacy.
Sunburst
Technology's new "Sunburst Learning Solutions" educational
consulting program is dedicated to providing schools with student
achievement solutions for differentiated instruction. Sunburst Learning
Solutions focuses on student improvement in grades K-12 using sound,
leading-edge technology platforms developed for targeted intervention.
Building upon Sunburst's 30-year history of supporting teachers
and delivering educational products that promote student achievement,
Sunburst Learning Solutions provides schools with solutions that
meet "No Child Left Behind" Legislation requirements and that can
be customized to each school's individual challenges. It offers
customizable, research-based achievement solutions for schools,
leveraging the best standards-based products to provide the highest
return on schools' instructional investment. High quality implementation
and support enhance these true learning solutions.
Sunburst
acquired Tenth Planet® in 1998, supporting the development of its
skills-based early literacy and elementary number, fraction, and
geometry programs. In 1999, Sunburst was sold to the Houghton-Mifflin
Company, which brought Math Arena®, the Little Planet® literacy
series, and the Curious George® titles to the product line.
Sunburst received the EdNet Hero Award in 2001 for making a positive
impact in education through learning technologies. That year, Sunburst,
as part of Houghton Mifflin, was purchased by Vivendi Universal.
Creating a partnership with Knowledge Adventure® School Division,
a Vivendi Universal company, Sunburst began to distribute popular
brands such as the Jump Start™ Learning System and the Math Blaster®
and Reading Blaster™ series.
In 2002, Houghton Mifflin divested Sunburst Technology, which then
merged with Educational Resources to form the Sunburst Technology
Corporation. In 2003, the Sunburst health and guidance video and
print division joined School Specialties, Inc. Sunburst acquired
QuickMind.net in 2004.
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Management
Structure
Sunburst Technology Corporation, located in Elgin, IL, and Valhalla,
NY, is owned by Thayer Capital, an investment group based in Washington,
D.C. Sunburst Technology is led by Mark Sotir, Chief Executive Officer.
The company's senior management team includes Michael McArthy, Chief
Financial Officer; David Wolff, Senior Vice President of Software
Development; Daniel Figurski, Senior Vice President of Sales; and
Mike Gavelek, Senior Vice President of Marketing.
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Market
Position
Both
Sunburst and Educational Resources are well-respected names in the
school market. Sunburst is known for its high-quality software programs
for the PreK-12 classroom, service-oriented technical support, and
customer service teams. Sunburst dominates the field of instructional
keyboarding and is a leading publisher of early literacy and middle-school
math programs.
In
addition to producing and selling original software, Sunburst Technology
Corporation also distributes a broad array of educational technology
materials including hardware, Web-based products, and print materials.
Educational
Resources distributes a wide range of school technology products.
With an ability to form strategic partnerships, Educational Resources
provides schools with both popular and hard-to-find products at
favorable pricing.
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