textbooks have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and French. Company founder In 1984, Larson formed a small company that he called Larson Texts, starting with four employees in an old cottage on the campus of Behrend College. The cottage had been part of the original estate of Ernst Behrend, founder of Hamermill Paper Company. This company grew through a sequence of larger offices. In 1992, Larson gave up his sole proprietorship of the company to form a corporation called Larson Texts, Inc. In the same year the company purchased Typographics, a small typesetting firm in Erie, Pennsylvania. Typographics came with a group of employees who were experienced in design, graphic arts, and composition. In 2000, the company bought and renovated the former Belle Valley School into a office building. It has over 70 employees, who work in design, composition, and research ... all connected with the development and production of Larson's textbooks. In 2000, it was listed in the Top Ten Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania for medium-sized companies. In 2008, the company formed a publishing division called Big Ideas Learning which publishes textbooks at the middle and high school levels. These textbooks follow the new curriculum and practices specified by the Common Core State Standards Initiative. In addition to specifying a common curriculum in mathematics, the Common Core State Standards Initiative specifies eight Mathematical Practices that students should be taught. In keeping with this curriculum and practices, Larson has written a book titled Mathematical Practices, with examples of how teachers can implement the curriculum and practices in Grades K-8. Beginning in 2008, Larson Texts began a policy of having the content of its copyrights available free on the Internet. Currently, this policy applies to all of its 7 middle school titles, its 3 high school titles, and its title Math & You. Instructional software In 1992, Larson Texts formed a software division called Meridian Creative Group, later renamed as Larson Learning. The division developed and sold tutorial mathematics software for grades K through 8. In 2005, Larson Learning was sold to Houghton Mifflin for $7 million. Larson, Ron; Robyn Silbey (1998). "Larson's Middle School Math, Grades 6, 7, and 8". Larson Learning Larson, Ron (2000). "Larson's Intermediate Math, Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6". Larson Learning Larson, Ron (2002). "Larson's Elementary Math, Grades Kindergarten, 1, and 2". Larson Learning In 2013, Larson devised and designed an educational