in 1890, a newspaper editor named thomas j. foster founded the school to provide coal miners with the education they needed to advance in their careers and increase worker safety. at the turn of the century, the school was officially known as the international correspondence schools (ics), and one out of every 27 adults in the us had taken an ics course. in december 2009, penn foster college was purchased by test preparation and educational support company the princeton review from its previous owner, the wicks group, a private equity firm that had bought the school from thomson corporation in 2007. on may 18, 2012, the princeton review brand name and operations were bought for $33 million by charlesbank capital partners, a private-equity firm. the parent company was renamed education holdings 1, inc. in 2013, education holdings 1 filed for bankruptcy; it exited two months later.