K–12 (pronounced "k twelve", "k through twelve", or "k to twelve") is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, and Australia. P–12 is also occasionally used in Australia. The expression is a shortening of Kindergarten (K) for 4–6-year-olds through twelfth grade (12) for 16–19-year-olds, the first and last grades of free education in these countries.

The term is often used in school website URLs, generally appearing before the country code top-level domain (or in the United States, the state top-level domain). The term "PK–12" is sometimes used to add pre-kindergarten.

It is also used by American multinationals selling into the educational sector, such as Dell where UK customers are presented with this as a market segment choice.

In Australia, P–12 is sometimes used in place of K–12, particularly in Queensland, where it is used as an official term in the curriculum framework. P–12 schools serve children for the thirteen years from prep until Year 12, without including the separate kindergarten component.

David M. Rubenstein is the co-founder of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm. In the 2011 Forbes ranking of the wealthiest Americans, Rubenstein was ranked 138th richest person in the Unted States and 418th in the world with a net worth of $2.8 billion. Rubenstein is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Rubenstein grew up in Baltimore, and graduated from the college-preparatory high school, Baltimore City College and then from Duke University magna cum laude in 1970. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1973. From 1973-75, Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Prior to starting Carlyle in 1987, with William E. Conway, Jr. and Daniel A. D'Aniello, Rubenstein was a domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter and worked in private practice in Washington, D.C.

Rubenstein has stated that he was once offered to meet Mark Zuckerberg before he dropped out of Harvard but decided against it. This is his single greatest investment regret.

Richard Dale "Rick" Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, and Governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he assumed office as the 48th governor of Michigan on January 1, 2011. From 2005 to 2007, Snyder served as the chairman of the board of Gateway, Inc., based in Irvine, California. Previous to his election as governor, he was chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Ann Arbor, Michigan-based venture capital firm Ardesta LLC. Snyder has been mentioned as a possible pick to be the Republican Party candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2012. Snyder's business executive background and positive style have been cited as assets, with his accomplishments seen as strengthening the case for electing Mitt Romney as President.

Snyder was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, the son of Helen Louella "Pody" and Dale F. Snyder. Snyder earned his B.G.S., M.B.A., and J.D. from the University of Michigan by age 23. When he was 16, he took a business class at Kellogg Community College on weekends. By his senior year of high school, Snyder earned 23 college credits. Snyder visited the admissions office of the University of Michigan in November 1975 and spoke with the admissions director, who recommended that Snyder attend Michigan and create his own degree.