Outschool Calls for More Personalized Learning Choices as Survey Shows Overwhelming Desire for Educational Reform, as well as Parental Fears about the Use of AI in Education

SAN FRANCISCO, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey from leading online education platform Outschool, conducted by ResearchScape International in March 2025, reveals that while parents across the U.S. are divided about eliminating the Department of Education, they are overwhelmingly united in their belief that the traditional education system is failing to meet their children’s needs. The survey polled 1,065 U.S. parents of children aged 5-18, highlighting an apparent demand for more personalized learning and greater parental control over their children’s education.

According to the survey, 48% of parents disapprove of dismantling the Department of Education, with 31% strongly disapproving. However, 36% of parents approve to some degree, with men (23%) more likely than women (13%) to strongly approve of dismantling the Department. Support for the idea is notably higher among younger generations and Republicans, with 41% of Republicans and Independents that lean Republican favoring the dismantling compared to only 19% of Democrats.

Despite differing views on federal oversight, 81% of parents agree that the traditional education model needs to be reimagined for more personalized learning. Gen Z parents are the most likely to agree, with 83% expressing support for a more customized educational approach.

“Education is changing, and families deserve better options,” said Amir Nathoo, CEO of Outschool. “What matters most is a child’s engagement and love of learning. Studies have shown that intrinsic motivation, which drives genuine curiosity and creativity, significantly declines as children progress through the school system. This decline is tied to outdated assessment models that value rote memorization over meaningful engagement. Parents deserve the ability to design an education as unique as their child.”

Parents are increasingly concerned about the limitations of the current system. Their top concerns include bullying and social issues, poor academic achievement, and school shootings and violence. 82% of parents indicated that if made available, they would utilize school choice funding if in their state; it’s clear that families are eager for alternatives.

The survey also shows strong support for state-funded Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), grants, and scholarships, with 48% of parents believing they help afford alternatives to public school and 46% saying they expand children’s learning beyond the classroom.

When asked about education technology, parents had mixed feelings about artificial intelligence’s burgeoning role. 63% of parents believe education technology has been beneficial, but are less enthusiastic about AI’s role in education. Men were more supportive of ed tech in general, with 71% vs 57% of women saying it had been beneficial thus far in their child’s education. While 39% are concerned about AI’s influence, 36% feel it’s essential to establish clear standards for AI use, and 35% are concerned about how AI makes cheating and plagiarism easier for kids; however, 34% are excited about the potential advancements AI may bring.

Outschool offers a solution to the current educational crisis with a global platform of live, interactive classes and personalized tutoring that caters to each child’s passions, strengths, and ambitions. By removing traditional education’s “one-size-fits-all” approach, Outschool empowers families to design an education that truly meets their child’s needs.

Visit www.outschool.com for more information about Outschool and how it’s transforming learning for children aged 3 to 18.

Survey Methodology: Conducted by Researchscape International on behalf of Outschool, the results in this report are from an online survey of 1,065 U.S. parents of children aged 5-18 that was fielded from March 11-13, 2025. The responses are not weighted.

About Outschool:
Outschool offers a better way to prepare kids ages 3-18 for a world that demands creativity, adaptability, and real-world skills. We remove the “one-size-fits-all” of the current traditional education system. Outschool makes it easy for families to design an education as unique as their child. Classes on Outschool range from one-time enrichment lessons to semester-long core courses, tutoring, and weekly social clubs. Classes are offered across all subjects, and learners range from age 3 to 18. More information can be found at Outschool.com.

Researchscape International
Researchscape International is a market-research firm that specializes in custom surveys and provides automated research tools. Founded in 2012, Researchscape focuses on an agile-research methodology, offering full-service research solutions with quick turnaround times as well as the ResearchStory analytical platform. In 2024, Researchscape International surveyed over 400,000 consumers and business professionals in 60+ countries.

Media contact:
Kristen Marion
623-308-2638
392437@email4pr.com

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SOURCE Outschool

SAN FRANCISCO, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today issued the following statement in response to comments made by Starboard Value LP (“Starboard”):

“Autodesk is delivering strong business and financial results, positioning us to drive significant shareholder value. Our strategy is working, as evidenced by our recent performance. We have also proactively strengthened our Board of Directors, including the recent appointments of two independent directors with demonstrated track records of value creation.”

Autodesk’s Strong Financial Results:  

Delivered FY 2025 revenue of $6.1 billion – up 16% annually since FY 2019 and 12% year-over-year   Reported FY 2025 non-GAAP operating margins that have increased >2,400 bps since FY 2019, and we expect an additional 200 – 300 bps of underlying margin expansion in FY 20261, with more to come over timeGenerated strong free cash flow momentum from $1.3 billion in FY 2024 to $1.6 billion in FY 2025 (22% growth) to increasing our FY 2026 free cash flow target to $2.075 billion – $2.175 billion2Significantly increased our share repurchase authorization and commitment, and we anticipate buying back $1.1 billion – $1.2 billion of stock in FY 2026, a 30 – 40% increase over FY 2025  Completed the launch of our new go-to-market approach in FY 2025 and are now in the optimization phase of the plan, from which we expect to drive continued growth and margin expansion

“We remain highly committed to ongoing, constructive dialogue with our shareholders, having engaged with investors representing more than 50% of our outstanding shares. Despite persistent and concerning tactics by Starboard during its self-serving campaign—including repeated misrepresentations and selling down nearly half of its position mid-campaign—we have continued to approach engagement in good faith.”

Starboard’s Self-Serving Campaign:  

Attempted to launch a proxy fight last year, including suing Autodesk in Delaware Court to reopen the nomination deadline it had missed—even though Starboard did not own a position in Autodesk when our nomination window was open3. Starboard’s claims were rejected by the Court as frivolous4Declined multiple invitations over many months to constructively engage, including to participate in our Board refreshment process   Accepted an invitation from Autodesk to present its ideas to the full Board, and days later, published a presentation with numerous false claims and misrepresentations  Demonstrated its interests are opportunistic and not necessarily aligned with long-term shareholders, having been in and out of Autodesk stock over the last year, including selling 44% of its position as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 Submitted a dissident slate a mere three hours before the nomination window closed rather than constructively engaging with our Board after we had been in contact with Starboard for over nine months  

“Although we have concerns regarding Starboard’s nomination approach and its selection of candidates, consisting of a Starboard principal and affiliates and friends who are closely aligned with its opportunistic interests, we remain open to meeting its nominees. The Board will review Starboard’s nominees and make a recommendation in due course. Our unwavering focus remains on acting in the best interests of Autodesk and all our shareholders.”  

About Autodesk
The world’s designers, engineers, builders, and creators trust Autodesk to help them design and make anything. From the buildings we live and work in, to the cars we drive and the bridges we drive over. From the products we use and rely on, to the movies and games that inspire us. Autodesk’s Design and Make Platform unlocks the power of data to accelerate insights and automate processes, empowering our customers with the technology to create the world around us and deliver better outcomes for their business and the planet. For more information, visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk. #MakeAnything

Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding momentum in our business and margin expansion, delivering sustainable value for shareholders, our share repurchase strategy, our review of Starboard’s nominees, our short-term and long-term goals and targets, our strategies, market and product positions, future performance and results, and all statements that are not historical facts. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: our strategy to develop and introduce new products and services and to move to platforms and capabilities, exposing us to risks such as limited customer acceptance (both new and existing customers), costs related to product defects, and large expenditures; global economic and political conditions, including changes in monetary and fiscal policy, foreign exchange headwinds, recessionary fears, supply chain disruptions, resulting inflationary pressures and hiring conditions; geopolitical tension and armed conflicts, and extreme weather events; costs and challenges associated with strategic acquisitions and investments; our ability to successfully implement and expand our transaction model and our sales and marketing optimization; dependency on international revenue and operations, exposing us to significant international regulatory, economic, intellectual property, collections, currency exchange rate, taxation, political, and other risks, including risks related to the war against Ukraine launched by Russia and our exit from Russia and the current conflict between Israel and Hamas; inability to predict subscription renewal rates and their impact on our future revenue and operating results; existing and increased competition and rapidly evolving technological changes; fluctuation of our financial results, key metrics and other operating metrics; our transition from up front to annual billings for multi-year contracts; deriving a substantial portion of our net revenue from a small number of solutions, including our AutoCAD-based software products and collections; any failure to successfully execute and manage initiatives to realign or introduce new business and sales initiatives, including our new transaction model for Flex; net revenue, billings, earnings, cash flow, or new or existing subscriptions shortfalls; social and ethical issues relating to the use of artificial intelligence in our offerings; our ability to maintain security levels and service performance meeting the expectations of our customers, and the resources and costs required to avoid unanticipated downtime and prevent, detect and remediate performance degradation and security breaches; security incidents or other incidents compromising the integrity of our or our customers’ offerings, services, data, or intellectual property; reliance on third parties to provide us with a number of operational and technical services as well as software; our highly complex software, which may contain undetected errors, defects, or vulnerabilities; increasing regulatory focus on privacy issues and expanding laws; governmental export and import controls that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or subject us to liability if we violate the controls; protection of our intellectual property rights and intellectual property infringement claims from others; the government procurement process; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; our debt service obligations; and our investment portfolio consisting of a variety of investment vehicles that are subject to interest rate trends, market volatility, and other economic factors.

Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of Autodesk are included in Autodesk’s Form 10-K and subsequent Forms 10-Q, which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Autodesk disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with Autodesk’s 2025 Annual Meeting, Autodesk will file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and mail to the shareholders of record entitled to vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting a definitive proxy statement and other documents, including a universal proxy card. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS WHEN FILED WITH THE SEC AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THOSE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. When filed with the SEC, the definitive proxy statement and universal proxy card will also be mailed to shareholders of record. Investors and other interested parties will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov, or from Autodesk at its website: https://investors.autodesk.com/financials/sec-filings. You may also obtain copies of Autodesk’s definitive proxy statement and other documents, free of charge, by contacting Autodesk’s Investor Relations Department at investor.relations@autodesk.com. In addition, information regarding Autodesk’s directors and executive officers is available in its most recent proxy statement that was filed with the SEC (and is available at https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/769397/000076939724000101/adsk-20240613.htm). Other information regarding potential participants in any such proxy solicitation will be filed by Autodesk.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange for one year and the implementation of the new transaction model; see slide 10 in Autodesk’s Q4 FY 2025 earnings presentationFor a reconciliation of historical free cash flow metrics, see Autodesk’s annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 recently filed with the SEC”Based on the representations by plaintiffs’ counsel today, the plaintiffs sold their entire position in early March of this year”. Starboard Value v. Autodesk, 2024-0659, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington)”It’s been said that ‘a colorable claim for relief [] is essentially a non-frivolous cause of action.’ … But this showing while a minimal threshold is one that a party seeking expedition must, nevertheless, clear… The plaintiffs here don’t come close.” Starboard Value v. Autodesk, 2024-0659, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington)

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SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

Marketri has appointed Amanda Zarle as a new Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), bringing 30 years of experience in strategic marketing, brand strategy, and go-to-market execution. She will guide high-impact marketing strategies to drive revenue growth for Marketri’s B2B clients.

PHILADELPHIA, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Marketri, a leading provider of fractional marketing services for B2B companies, is pleased to announce the addition of Amanda Zarle as a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). In this key role, Zarle will leverage her extensive background in marketing, strategy, and go-to-market execution to help Marketri’s clients accelerate revenue growth and enhance their competitive position.

“As more companies realize the importance of fractional marketing leadership, we are able to build our team of experts who can make an impact right away,” said Deb Andrews, founder and CEO of Marketri. ” Amanda’s impressive background in strategic marketing and deep expertise across multiple industries make her an outstanding addition to our team.”

Zarle brings 30 years of experience delivering data-driven marketing solutions for organizations spanning healthcare, financial services, technology, and consumer products. Her diverse background includes leadership roles in brand strategy, product marketing, research, and full-funnel execution. She has previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for a creative agency and advised Fortune 500 clients as a management consultant, equipping her to address complex marketing challenges from every angle. She has an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

“I’m thrilled to join Marketri and collaborate with this exceptional team that’s redefining B2B marketing,” said Zarle. “What sets Marketri apart isn’t just our fractional CMO expertise, but our ability to deploy cohesive, experienced marketing teams that have a proven track record of success together. Clients aren’t simply hiring individual fractional talent – they’re gaining access to a turnkey marketing department that can seamlessly integrate with their business. I look forward to drawing on my experiences to help our clients achieve sustainable growth.”

With Zarle’s addition, Marketri continues to expand its team of experienced marketing leaders, solidifying its commitment to providing businesses with the strategic leadership needed to accelerate growth in an evolving market.

For more information, visit www.marketri.com.

About Marketri

Founded in 2004, Marketri is a B2B strategic marketing firm that specializes in fractional marketing leadership and consulting. The company leverages a cost-effective fractional resourcing model and modern marketing approaches to drive revenue for growth-oriented businesses seeking a world-class marketing function.

Marketri’s Fractional CMOs and Fractional CGOs integrate seamlessly into client organizations, providing the leadership and execution needed to drive measurable impact. The company applies its deep industry-specific expertise to serve clients in financial services, technology, SaaS, professional services, engineering services, and manufacturing. Marketri has been recognized as a top advertising and marketing agency by Clutch in 2021 and 2022 and was named one of America’s fastest-growing companies by Inc. 5000 in 2023.

Media Contact

Pilar Lewis, Marketri, 1 4044019755, plewis@marketri.com, https://marketri.com/

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SOURCE Marketri