Chase Eskelsen Bio and Investment Opportunities
Chase Eskelsen
Chase Eskelsen M.Ed. has spent the last two decades in various positions serving students. He started his K-12 education career as an administrator focused on strong operational metrics and scaling full-time, online schools (both charter and district). Upon leaving the school management position he supported nationwide EdTech company, K12 (now Stride) with one foot in the academic policy world and the other in government affairs supporting student centered accountability. He finished his time with K12/Stride as the National Director of Board and Partner Relations. He then served as the Chief Operating Officer of an education nonprofit where his team launched new hybrid schools and supported the acquisition of private schools until founding Fersken Education (FerskenED) in late 2021. He has also been a Cognia Lead Evaluator and Process Coach since 2017.
Education Management Organization
Drift Management Co. is an education management firm dedicated to helping schools launch, grow, and thrive. Whether you’re starting a new microschool, expanding a private school, or strengthening your existing operations, Drift provides the expertise, systems, and support you need to succeed.
Our team specializes in the essential areas of running a school—launch strategy, day-to-day operations, staffing and HR, finance, compliance, and long-term planning. If it’s part of building or running a school, Drift can handle it—or connect you with the right trusted partner.
Because of our extensive experience across charter schools, private schools, and innovative education models, we understand the challenges school leaders face. That’s why Drift has built strong relationships with curriculum providers, technology platforms, and key vendors. We don’t just recommend resources—we connect you with solutions we’ve vetted, tested, and trust.
Many schools turn to Drift with the question: “Where do I start?” Our answer is simple: tell us what you need. From staffing to systems to curriculum, Drift is your partner in making sure every piece is in place for your school to run smoothly and sustainably.
Founded by education leader Chase Eskelsen in 2025, Drift Management Co. exists to remove the operational burden from school leaders so they can focus on what matters most—students and learning.
Hybrid Microschool
ParagonED is an education nonprofit 501(c)(3) focused on educating students in a hybrid format in DFW, TX locations. It is open for students in grades K-12 looking for an education option that works for their unique learning style, sports or performance time-tight needs, and for families who want to be put back in control of their kid's educational journey.
This microschool is focused on its three core pillars that are all based on feedback we have received from feedback from community members.
1. Critical Life Skills - Parents and students alike were frustrated that they were not getting the core life skills required for thriving post-high school. Every ParagonED student takes Culinary Arts, Personal Finance, and every high school student takes Life Skills courses.
2. Business Experience - Local business owners were frustrated that high school and college graduates were not prepared for the workforce, even if they knew how to do the basic needs of the job. They struggle with basic problem solving and teamwork. Every student at ParagonED is enrolled in the Entrepreneurship or Enterprise Pathway starting in Kindergarten.
3. Kingdom Values - Parents were frustrated that the local schools no longer aligned with their family values. They wanted to know that their kids were going to get a solid education and learn to read and not be indoctrinated with values outside of their family values. ParagonED offers an optional chapel service every week as well as accesss to The GoodLIFE curriculum helping students to make good eternally valuable decisions instead of short term choices on a whim.
Chase Eskelsen is the Founder/Board Chair of ParagonED since 2024
We're asking you to invest in the Kingdom.
Our Immediate Needs
These are the things we'll need by the end of the current school year. We're asking you to consider joining us in building the Kingdom, together.
PR and Marketing
We want to ensure our message reaches more families who can benefit from what we offer. One focus this upcoming year will be ensuring Texas families know how to utilize these ESA dollars that are expected to pass this legislative session.
Facilities Buildout
These funds will support our facilities, providing the space we need to serve students effectively as we expand into our new home this upcoming summer.
Furniture
These dollars are specifically earmarked to be invested in furniture from a church that is selling lightly used chairs, tables, whiteboards, and more to create an engaging and functional environment for our learners in Frisco, TX.
Our Long-term Needs
This is our wish list for the future. We have built and proven the model with our first Frisco, TX based campus, but as we start looking at our second location we will need additional funds to expand our offerings and serve new students in innovative and unique ways.
Campus 2 Buildout
We are hoping to launch a very unique campus with a focus on club sports with a heavy focus on ice hockey and volleyball. These funds will allow us to customize the rink with the required classroom experience adjustments.
Content Updates
We are looking forward to building out our curriculum in a very specific way. We have used several different courses this past year and while much of it was good, we want to build out our own curriculum specifically in the Science and Business courses.
Tuition Assistance
We are always looking for folks who would like to support our students who otherwise couldn't pay for tuition to our school by funding scholarships through tax deductible donations to ParagonED.
You can donate here: https://www.givesendgo.com/ParagonED2025
You can reach out to use to get more information. Email us at Partner@FerskenED.com for investment options. You can invest in our efforts