During a recent conversation with a district leadership team, an administrator simply and eloquently shared what educators need from edtech providers.

Schools and districts need to be able to come to you and say "here's what we want to create, the environment, the culture, the tools—will you do that with us?" And the company needs to say "yes, yes we will."

The vast majority of edtech companies are mission-driven and well-meaning, but a common trap edtechers can fall into is assuming that we know best, then trying to impose our processes and views onto districts.

In order to ensure success for all—organizations, districts, and students—edtech companies need to listen more to educators' voices.

Oftentimes educators know exactly what they want to do, but don’t have the resources (people, time, technology, support) to implement it. That's where we as an edtech community can step in and help, and where we can make a huge difference in student outcomes. 

Rather than impose our view, edtech companies should enable and empower educators to scale the practices they’ve spent their careers learning and testing.

What's especially inspiring to us lately is educators' willingness and interest in sharing their stories with peers and colleagues. That's another place where edtechers can lend a hand. We tell customer stories via case studies, customer spotlights, webinars, and our blog, and we also make person-to-person connections whenever we can.

There are no one-size-fits-all solutions in education. Successful relationships between school districts and edtech companies are truly partnerships striving to improve student achievement, and each partnership is unique.

At TeachBoost, we’re grateful to work with so many inspiring educators trying to realize their vision for instructional leadership. And with that, we’re excited for the new school year!