Stride, Inc., an S&P 600 corporation based in Virginia, is hiring across various positions, including a school principal, counselor, and teachers for English, math, and science. All will work on-site at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, one of the largest detention centers in the U.S., the job ads state. The facility is managed by CoreCivic, one of two major for-profit prison operators, whose fortunes have risen drastically under the Trump regime, as I reported in August.
The establishment of a school is an effort to sanitize the extended detention of hundreds of children at Dilley, which violates a court settlement established 28 years ago. Under that settlement, children may not be held in immigration prison for more than 20 days unless the facility is nonsecure and licensed. But a recent court filing claims that ICE has held hundreds of children for well beyond that limit, in some cases for multiple months, and subjected them to neglect and abuse.
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STRIDE, ALSO KNOWN AS K12, INC., is a $2 billion online education company that reportedly served 220,000 students in 31 states last year. Former McKinsey & Co. consultant Ron J. Packard founded the company in 2000 with $40 million in venture capital backing from Oracle’s Larry Ellison and junk bond king Michael Milken, among others.
Earlier this month, securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announced a class action lawsuit against Stride and its senior executives for defrauding investors by lying about enrollment figures and failing to disclose “a catastrophic technology failure.” Stride told investors that it was “increasing growth in our business,” there was significant demand for its products and services, and that customers “continue to choose us in record numbers.” In fact, the plaintiffs claim, Stride “inflated enrollment numbers by retaining ‘ghost students,’ ignored compliance requirements for its employees,” and had such poor customer service that it drove away students.