GAMCO Educational Software
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Educational software |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder | Jerry Tegeler |
| Headquarters | Kirkwood, Texas , United States |
Number of employees | 60 (2001) |
| Parent | Siboney Learning Group (subsidiary of Siboney Corporation) |
GAMCO Educational Software was a Texas-based American developer specializing in educational video game production. Beginning in 1995, it functioned as a fully owned subsidiary under Siboney Learning Group, which itself was part of Siboney Corporation.
History
Established in 1955 by Jerry Tegeler as Siboney-Caribbean Petroleum, Siboney initially focused on petroleum but later expanded into coal, plastics, and oil exploration sectors. In 1968, the company acquired Gamco Inc., known for its educational product offerings. By 1992, Siboney had implemented employee stock options within Gamco Industries. Tim Tegeler took over leadership in 1995 and proceeded to divest all divisions except Gamco, which at that time was a modest educational systems firm located in West Texas. Bodie Marx was appointed to oversee software development within the Siboney Learning division. Up to that point, Gamco had published 17 titles, with Touchdown Maths standing out as the most successful.
The Touchdown Maths series combined football-themed gameplay with mathematics challenges to engage students of both genders. It was available on platforms such as Mac Color Classic and Apple II but received criticism for being overly targeted toward boys and for its reliance on outdated hardware. To modernize the offerings, Marx invested $350,000 to port the games to Windows and Mac systems and expanded the development team by hiring eight programmers internally; new releases were launched in October 1997.
For the quarter ending March 31, 1997, proprietary software accounted for roughly 94% of Gamco's revenue. In the same year, Siboney Learning Group launched Orchard: Teacher's Choice Software, a curriculum-centric platform designed to monitor student progress across various Siboney products, including those from Gamco. Dealer sales for Gamco increased by 14.4% in 1998. The company upheld an "on approval" policy permitting product returns within 45 days and consistently allocated between $412,000 and $440,000 annually for research and development from 1996 through 1998.
By 2001, Siboney employed approximately 60 personnel across its headquarters in Kirkwood and multiple fulfillment centers nationwide. However, by 2005, sales figures for GAMCO and Teacher Support Software had dropped by 33% compared to the previous year. In 2009, Siboney entered into a letter of intent aimed at selling Siboney Learning Group to an affiliate associated with EdOptions, an educational software firm.
Maths
- Math Concepts One... Two... Three!
- Math Concepts in Motion
- Math Concepts Step-by-Step
- Skillbuilders
- Paws and Pyramids
- Word Problem Square Off Series
- Touchdown Math Series
- Number Facts Series
- Money Challenge/Discover Time
Reading
- Phonics
- Reading Concepts
- Reading for Critical Thinking
- Captain Zog's Main Idea
- Undersea Reading for Meaning
Language Arts
- Renegades
- Essential Language Series
Writing
- Paragraph Power & Responsive Writing
- Precision Writing
- Writing Renegades