SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On September 29th, over 400 teachers gathered in Orlando to hear from VIPKid Founder and CEO Cindy Mi and Co-Founder Jessie Chen as the global education technology platform company celebrated its five year anniversary. The teachers were joined by dozens of their students from China who were invited to Walt Disney World as the first stop on VIPKid’s “World Classroom” project launched in partnership with Visit Orlando, an office that promotes tourism for the City of Orlando.
The day began with VIPKid’s third regional conference, Journey, where teachers were welcomed by the Disney Institute, the professional business development and consulting division of the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. In her keynote remarks, VIPKid co-founder Jessie Chen said, “From zero to over 60,000 teachers, many of you have been teaching on the VIPKid platform for years, and we are truly grateful for your dedication to teaching.” Teachers attended sessions on education trends, Chinese culture and teaching methods before joining visiting students from China to celebrate cross-cultural connection and hear from VIPKid Founder and CEO, Cindy Mi. “There is no greater calling than educating the future generation and that is why so many teachers are here today,” said Mi.
Jessica Graeber and her mother, who both teach on the VIPKid platform from Florida, attended Journey together. She said, “VIPKid has brought dignity back to teachers. They have created a community of passionate educators who feel valued, seen and heard. Journey is a celebration of that community. It is especially meaningful to me because I can share this experience with my mom.”
VIPKid is excited to announce a partnership with Visit Orlando as part of its World Classroom project, an immersive online and offline educational experience. Working with Walt Disney World and Visit Orlando, VIPKid students can virtually tour Walt Disney World and landmarks in Orlando. In the offline portion, students can travel to those sites along with teachers, and many students were able to visit Walt Disney World this weekend as part of this project. VIPKid aims to turn the world into a classroom and cultivate a global perspective for children around the world. “Through our partnership with Visit Orlando and the access that Walt Disney World has given us, teachers will have even more opportunities to help students become future global citizens,” said Mi.
To celebrate the partnership, the City of Orlando declared September 29th as Cindy Mi and VIPKid Day. Orlando District 6 Commissioner and Pro Tem Mayor Samuel B. Ings addressed the students and teachers. “On behalf of the citizens of this community, I extend our heartfelt welcome to the families from China and North American teachers and hereby proclaim Saturday, September 29th as Cindy Mi and VIPKid Day,” said Commissioner Ings.
VIPKid has recently announced several key partnerships, including a major expansion of curricula and product lines with partners such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). While VIPKid is currently available in China and 63 other countries serving over 500,000 students, the company announced plans to expand to 100 countries and open 10 international offices in the next three years.
About VIPKid
VIPKid is a global education technology platform company that connects children with the world’s best teachers for real-time online English immersion learning. VIPKid’s mission is to inspire and empower every child for the future. VIPKid envisions a global classroom that empowers students and teachers through personalized learning, connects cultures across the world and sparks a passion for lifelong learning. It believes that education is not one-size-fits-all, rather all students are unique and the world is within their reach when connected with great teachers capable of personalizing learning and sparking curiosity.
Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014, VIPKid has become China’s market-leading online education startup, attracting investment from Tencent, Coatue Management, Sequoia Capital, Sinovation Ventures, Yunfeng Capital, Matrix Partners, Learn Capital, Northern Light VC and Bryant Stibel, among others. The VIPKid platform currently connects over 500,000 paying students with over 60,000 teachers in the US and Canada.
For more information, please visit: www.vipkid.com.
