K-12 platform enables and empowers the extracurricular ecosystem

Atlanta, GA, Oct. 1, 2015 – Following an initial phase of rapid adoption, PlanetHS is proud to announce Lupita Knittel as its Chief Executive Officer to lead the company into an aggressive growth and expansion period.

PlanetHS connects schools, family, and business communities in support of student activities and athletics. More than 10.5 million notifications, including media, text messages, events scheduled, and email, were managed and delivered during the 2014-2015 school year, a 135% growth over the previous year. Some of the most common modules include live streaming, student elections, electronic payments, and sports eligibility—all powered by a robust database engine.

Knittel has had a distinguished 15-year career in the education technology space. She joined PlanetHS from Promethean, where she was a core member of the leadership team that built Promethean from its early start into a market-leading platform. Prior to working at Promethean, she was a key contributor at leading companies such as Apple and Electronic Data Systems. She was a school teacher in her native Mexico, where she also founded and operated her own marketing research company. She serves on the Board of the Cobb Schools Foundation in Cobb County, GA, and strongly believes in the powerful role of extracurricular activities, based in part on the experiences of her own two daughters.

“We are uniquely positioned to have a very positive and measurable impact on student success,” Knittel said. “One hour per week of active participation in extracurricular activities can significantly reduce the number of students dropping out of high school, currently at more than 1 million per year. Students develop leadership, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and time-management skills. Business leaders and alumni make it possible for schools to continue and grow these important programs. PlanetHS is bringing all the pieces together to transform the way we prepare our students for success.”

PlanetHS Chairman Scott Fogarty commented, “It was immediately evident that Lupita shares our passion and vision to partner with schools and connect communities to improve students’ life skills. With her experience and extraordinary record of leadership, having her as our CEO is a great privilege for us, and a source of excitement as we expand our presence across the United States.”

PlanetHS now serves more than 400,000 members from more than 900 schools. With 72% growth in number of users, and an open rate by parents of 70%, PlanetHS is fast becoming the preferred digital communications hub for the student-life ecosystem.

For more information, please visit PlanetHS.com

About PlanetHS

PlanetHS is the student-life online community enabling the critical links among school, family, and business for more successful extracurricular programs, higher participation, and greater student outcomes. The PlanetHS platform delivers school-moderated digital communications, powerful engagement tools, and attractive sponsorship modules, all supported by database analytic capabilities to inform and empower these critical activities.

PlanetHS is headquartered in Georgia, with offices in Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.