The Juice, a leading K–12 current events and media literacy platform, has acquired ALEE, a literature-rich instructional platform founded by former NYC principal Marjorie McKeown, uniting daily news with deep reading to deliver the knowledge-building solution American classrooms urgently need.
MIAMI, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Juice, a platform delivering current events and media literacy to schools and homes, has acquired ALEE (Alexandria Learning Ecosystem for Educators), a teacher-designed company known for its inquiry-rich, literature-based materials.
"We're excited to bring ALEE into The Juice family," said Nathan Leight, founder of The Juice. "Our mission has always been to help students stay informed and think critically about the world. With ALEE, we're doubling down on the role of knowledge in literacy by combining news, literature, and research-based pedagogy into one platform."
The acquisition comes as two pressures reshape American education. Reading scores continue to fall, and more states are focusing on what research confirms: comprehension is rooted in knowledge, not isolated skills. At the same time, districts are pulling back on device use and demanding more from educational technology than passive screen consumption. Both ALEE and The Juice were designed with this in mind. ALEE is a teacher-facing tool that brings real books into the classroom. The Juice is purposefully lean on screens: students spend less time on devices and more time in discussion, reading and debating current events together as a class.
Founded by graduates of Harvard and MIT, The Juice and ALEE share a commitment to rigorous content and real-world connection. As more districts move away from fragmented skills instruction and toward Science of Reading-aligned, knowledge-rich approaches, this acquisition offers a direct response: instruction that helps students read widely, think deeply, and decide wisely.
"Both ALEE and The Juice believe that students learn best when instruction is rooted in the real world," said Marjorie McKeown, CEO of The Juice and founder of ALEE. "In the age of AI, students need a strong foundation of background knowledge in order to think critically, ask questions, and make sense of the world around them. This partnership allows us to scale what we've built at ALEE and pair it with The Juice's current events platform to make learning relevant and rooted in the acquisition of knowledge."
The Juice is known for its knowledge-building nonfiction and real-time media literacy; students read over 1 million articles on the platform in the last year alone. Together with ALEE's literature-rich offerings, The Juice now provides both daily and deep reading, giving schools a unified solution that prioritizes comprehension, curiosity, and critical thinking.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The full ALEE team has joined The Juice. McKeown joined at acquisition as Vice President of Strategy and was named Chief Executive Officer in February 2026.
To learn more or explore partnership opportunities, visit thejuicelearning.com or email [email protected].
Media Contact
Stephen Schifrin, The Juice, 1 8052683666, [email protected], https://thejuicelearning.com
SOURCE The Juice
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