Press Category: On the Wire

SAN FRANCISCO — July 20, 2026 — Family engagement has become one of the most important priorities for schools and districts and now it has its own national award.

ClassDojo today announced it has earned the inaugural 2026 CODiE Award for Best Parent Engagement Platform, becoming the first recipient of the new category established by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) to recognize innovation in strengthening family-school partnerships.

Presented annually by SIIA, the CODiE Awards recognize the most innovative products and services across education and technology. Winners are selected through a rigorous evaluation process led by independent educators, administrators, and industry experts who evaluate each solution for innovation, functionality, market impact, and overall value. Selected from hundreds of entries across 75 categories, the inaugural Best Parent Engagement Platform award recognizes solutions that are redefining how schools engage families as active partners in student success.

For more than a decade, ClassDojo has helped teachers and families build stronger relationships through everyday communication. Today, the platform is used in 95% of U.S. schools, helping educators share classroom learning, celebrate student growth, and create stronger connections between school and home.

Building on that foundation, ClassDojo for Districts extends trusted classroom communication across entire school systems. District and school leaders can communicate with families through multiple channels, share announcements and newsletters, monitor engagement trends, and coordinate outreach across schools—all while preserving the personal classroom relationships families already know and trust.

Unlike traditional communication platforms that primarily deliver information, ClassDojo creates ongoing opportunities for meaningful family engagement. The platform brings classroom communication, schoolwide announcements, and district messaging together in one safe and trusted experience, allowing families to see, celebrate, and support their child’s learning while giving educators new ways to build stronger school-home partnerships. Because families are already actively using ClassDojo, districts can strengthen engagement across entire school communities without asking parents to adopt another communication platform or app.

“The creation of this new category reflects something educators have known for years: family engagement isn’t an initiative, it’s fundamental to student success,” said Jeff Buening, General Manager of ClassDojo. “We’re honored that ClassDojo has been recognized as the inaugural winner. Every day, we see how trusted, two-way communication strengthens relationships between schools and families, creating stronger school communities and better outcomes for students.”

The platform also helps schools create more inclusive communities. Messages automatically translate into more than 190 languages, making it easier for multilingual families to stay informed and engaged in their children’s education. Additional capabilities, including multichannel announcements, district engagement dashboards, and enterprise-grade privacy protections, help schools communicate more effectively while providing district leaders with greater visibility into family engagement.

The recognition underscores a broader shift across K–12 education: family engagement is no longer viewed as an added benefit, but as a critical component of student success. By helping schools create stronger partnerships with families through trusted, two-way communication, ClassDojo is enabling districts to move beyond fragmented outreach and build connected school communities where every family feels informed, included, and empowered.

“The 2026 CODiE Award winners represent some of the most innovative and impactful solutions in the industry,” said Jennifer Baranowski, President of the CODiE Awards. “These organizations are solving meaningful challenges, delivering measurable outcomes, and helping shape the future of technology.”

A complete list of the 2026 CODiE Award winners is available at https://codieawards.com/winners.

About ClassDojo

ClassDojo is on a mission to give every child an education they love. Used in 95% of U.S. schools, ClassDojo helps teachers and families build stronger school communities through everyday communication. ClassDojo for Districts is a unified communication and engagement platform that brings everyday classroom updates and districtwide messaging into one seamless experience—helping families feel connected, students stay engaged, and school culture grows stronger. It’s built with privacy at its core and available to districts at no additional cost.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

NEW YORK – July 15, 2026 – Today, Spencer Striker Digital Learning released the first episode of, Al-Khwarizmi: Father of Algebra and the Algorithm | An Original Docudrama Series. This free series of 30 episodes was funded by the Doha Film Institute Web Series Grant and selected for the Qumra 2026 Series Lab and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@SpencerStrikerDigitalLearning (this link no longer available).

Published first in English in a vertical format for mobile devices, the story follows Al-Khwarizmi in ninth-century Badhdad, which was considered the Silicon Valley of its time. A scholar at the House of Wisdom, a young and hungry Al-Khwarizmi fused Greek geometry and Indian arithmetic into something new: the algorithm. Eventually, this became Algebra, the foundational advanced mathematics taught to middle-school age students around the globe.

Season 1 released on YouTube on July 15 with the remainder of the 30-episode series releasing periodically throughout Summer 2026. The series is completely free for anyone to use and enjoy. Teachers are encouraged to watch Al-Khwarizmi with their students in mathematics, social studies, or world history. Teachers of the digital arts and filmmaking including AI animation/graphics and AI filmmaking in high school and college, can learn from the film production notes supplied here. And, anyone interested in the history of the House of Wisdom, the foundations of mathematics, or the rich cultural history of the Middle East will enjoy the Legend of Al-Khwarizmi.

The docudrama series creator is Spencer Striker, PhD, a Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University in Qatar and the founder of Spencer Striker Digital Learning. His award winning work spans interactive history, mobile games, VR, and documentaries. See his full portfolio at SpencerStriker.com.

“Producing the Legend of Al-Khwarizmi is the culmination of deep research into the cultural and intellectual history of ancient Persia, combined with the prodigious talents of our creative team,” said Striker. “We are working at an exciting time, when AI film production in the hands of talented artists can create rich and beautiful work at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional filmmaking. Small, indie teams like ours can now produce original material with high production value relatively quickly and share the work with millions of people – and in our case, entirely for free.”

• View the series for free on YouTube.
• Click here for a media kit. Additional visual assets available upon request.
• Request more information or a private screening here.

About Spencer Striker Digital Learning

Spencer Striker Digital Learning produces free interactive learning experiences combining AI with lifelike digital media design on topics that help students make sense of complex issues. Spencer Striker is a Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University in Qatar. His award-winning learning experiences include apps, games, motion comics, VR and web-based story-telling. Learn more at SpencerStriker.com.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

SAN FRANCISCO — July 13, 2026 — School leaders are increasingly expected to communicate across multiple channels, engage families consistently, and strengthen school culture—all while managing a growing number of tools.

In response to feedback from educators and district leaders, ClassDojo today announced a suite of new capabilities that help principals and school leaders communicate with families, strengthen school-home connections, and manage all staff outreach from a single platform.

For years, educators have known ClassDojo as a trusted classroom communication tool. Today’s announcement reflects the company’s continued evolution into a comprehensive schoolwide platform designed to support administrators, teachers, students, and families across entire school communities.

The new capabilities include multichannel announcements (spanning email, text, voice, and mobile app), built-in Canva newsletter creation, one-click social media posting, schoolwide engagement dashboards, and new tools for middle and high school staff to communicate directly with students—giving school leaders new ways to reach families and students, share school stories, reinforce school values, recognize and reinforce positive student behavior, understand participation trends, and increase in positive student outcomes.

“One message we’ve heard consistently from principals and district leaders is that they don’t need another tool—they need fewer tools that work better together,” said Jeff Buening, General Manager of ClassDojo. “ClassDojo has long helped teachers connect with families in the classroom. These new capabilities extend that support across the entire school community, helping school leaders communicate more effectively, strengthen family partnerships, and create stronger connections between home and school.”

Schools that implement ClassDojo schoolwide see measurable gains in family engagement, including 80% of families reading their ClassDojo messages the day they are received, 25% more active families, and 20% more family-initiated messages. In addition, three in four principals say ClassDojo makes it easier to build positive school culture and reinforce student behavior expectations.

The new features help schools:

• Reach more families through multichannel announcements that allow administrators to write a message once and distribute it across app and email channels, with additional communication options available for district partners via SMS & voice calls.
• Create polished HTML newsletters and announcements in minutes with built-in Canva integration and send them out efficiently through ClassDojo channels.
• Extend school communications to social media through one-click posting capabilities.
• Gain visibility into family and teacher engagement through a schoolwide engagement dashboard that helps leaders identify opportunities for support and connection.
• Support the unique needs of secondary schools with a more mature user experience, multi-class communication tools, and secure teacher-to-student messaging for eligible schools.

The enhancements are designed to help school leaders address one of their most pressing goals: building stronger connections between schools and families. Messages on ClassDojo automatically translate into more than 190 languages, helping schools communicate more effectively with multilingual families and ensuring more parents and caregivers can stay informed and engaged in their children’s education.

The release also expands ClassDojo’s support for middle and high schools, introducing tools and experiences designed specifically for secondary educators, students, and families.

All of the new school leader features will be available for the 2026–27 school year. ClassDojo will continue to be free for schools, teachers, and families.

For more information, visit https://www.classdojo.com/school-leaders/

About ClassDojo

ClassDojo is on a mission to give every child an education they love. Used in 95% of U.S. schools, ClassDojo helps teachers and families build stronger school communities through everyday communication. ClassDojo for Districts is a unified communication and engagement platform that brings everyday classroom updates and districtwide messaging into one seamless experience—helping families feel connected, students stay engaged, and school culture grows stronger. It’s built with privacy at its core and available to districts at no additional cost.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

Reading Eggs from 3P Learning has been honored in the 2026 CODiE Awards as being among the very best products to help students develop early literacy skills. Reading Eggs is a Science of Reading-aligned, ESSA-certified early literacy program that develops essential reading skills through systematic and explicit instruction, highly engaging activities, and rich opportunities for practice and consolidation.

“We are very pleased that Reading Eggs has been recognized by such a prestigious award as the CODiEs for the Best Science of Reading Product,” said Katy Pike, Chief Product Officer at 3P Learning. “We regard the CODiE very highly because each product is reviewed by educators and peers in the industry and their selections represent the very best solutions for helping teachers teach, and students learn.”

Reading Eggs is designed by educators for students in PreK-5th grade, applying the five pillars of Science of Reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Reading Eggs delivers explicit and systematic instruction using highly engaging lessons, motivating rewards, and an easy-to-use interface designed to help students rapidly build essential reading and phonics skills.

Reading Eggs was also named a finalist in the category for the Best Gamification in Learning Solutions along with Mathletics and Mathseeds, which are 3P Learning’s flagship mathematics products.

The CODiE Awards – now in its 40th year – are the technology industry’s most established peer-reviewed recognition program. Finalists are selected through a rigorous evaluation process conducted by hundreds of independent industry experts including business leaders, educators, and subject matter specialists in each product category.

“The 2026 CODiE finalists represent some of the most exciting innovations we’ve seen in the program’s 40-year history. From AI-powered education tools to enterprise platforms driving real business transformation, these products don’t just push boundaries — they solve real problems for the organizations, educators, and users they serve,” said Jennifer Baranowski, President, CODiE Awards.

About Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is a comprehensive, ESSA-certified online literacy program fully aligned with the Science of Reading for students in PreK–5th Grade. It delivers trusted, research-based instruction while keeping students engaged every step of the way. The Reading Eggs suite of programs provides a multi-year, structured literacy pathway from pre-reading (Reading Eggs Junior) to fluent independent reading and advanced comprehension (Reading Eggspress). Learn more at https://readingeggs.com/schools/admin/.

About 3P Learning

3P Learning (https://3plearning.com) is a global leader in online education for school-aged students offering a multi-award-winning suite of programs in reading (Reading Eggs) and mathematics (Mathletics and Mathseeds). Serving more than 18,000 schools in over 130 countries, our classroom solutions have been created by experienced educators and are backed by over 20 years of research.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

MIAMI, FL — July 8, 2026 — CyberNut, the cybersecurity awareness platform built exclusively for K-12 school districts, today announced it has acquired the Neptune Navigate Digital Citizenship platform, adding an established student curriculum to its K-12 safety offering. The acquisition deepens CyberNut’s focus on protecting both staff and students. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition expands the student side of CyberNut’s platform. The company already delivers student safety and digital citizenship education alongside its staff-facing phishing simulation, security awareness training, and threat reporting. Neptune Navigate adds an additional deep, purpose-built curriculum. For districts, the result is a deeper, more comprehensive approach to online safety for both students and staff, from a single partner focused only on K-12.

“We’ve always believed protecting a school means protecting the whole community — and our student offerings have been a core part of that from day one,” said Oliver Page, Chief Executive Officer of CyberNut. “Bringing Neptune Navigate into CyberNut pushes that vision even further. Students will get a richer, more engaging path to digital confidence, and districts get something no one else offers: staff security and student citizenship, growing together on one platform. We couldn’t be more excited about what we can now build.”

“Our mission has never been just about stopping phishing emails. It’s about raising a generation that’s safe and confident online. Neptune Navigate supercharges the student side of everything we’ve built, and we can’t wait to show districts what comes next,” said Stephen Mirante, Chief Revenue Officer of CyberNut.

“This is the best possible outcome for everyone who believed in Neptune Navigate. Instead of winding down, the platform is gearing up with a partner whose entire mission is keeping school communities safe online. We’re working side by side with CyberNut to make this transition seamless, and I can say with full confidence: our partners are in extraordinary hands,” said Eric Jontra, President & Founder, Neptune Navigate.

What’s Ahead

CyberNut said its immediate priority is a smooth 2026–27 launch for existing Neptune Navigate partners. Later this year, the company plans to share its roadmap for the curriculum, including refreshed content, modernized interactive features, and tighter connections between student digital citizenship and the staff-side security awareness training districts already run with CyberNut.

About CyberNut

CyberNut is a cybersecurity awareness platform built exclusively for K-12 school districts. Its purpose-built solution includes phishing simulations, gamified security awareness microtrainings, threat reporting, and compromised-account detection — designed specifically for the way schools operate. CyberNut is trusted by 400+ school districts and helps district teams reduce phishing click rates by an average of 75%. Learn more at www.cybernut.com.

About Neptune Navigate

Neptune Navigate is a digital citizenship curriculum used by schools and districts across the country to teach students how to navigate the online world responsibly, safely, and confidently.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

BALTIMORE, Md. — July 7, 2026 — Concentric Educational Solutions today announced a new certificate program for its Professional Student Advocates developed at Howard University in collaboration with The Human Potential L.A.B., a research nonprofit focused on applying the science of human development to real-world settings. Professional Student Advocates conduct Concentric’s home visits, and the new program trains them to approach every home visit with deep empathy and ethnographic rigor, empowering them to look past attendance data and compliance checklists, find the real reasons a student is missing school, and help families work through what stands in the way of learning.

Standard training teaches employees what to do. This program teaches Concentric’s advocates how to think: how to read a data point without rushing to judgment, how to get a family talking honestly about what’s really going on, and how to turn what they learn at the kitchen table into something a superintendent can actually act on.

“The role of a Professional Student Advocate goes far beyond procedure, and our training has to reflect that,” said Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, Chief of Research at Concentric Educational Solutions and a professor at Howard University. “This certificate improves our advocates’ ability to walk into a family’s home, understand what’s actually keeping that child from school, and help change the path they’re on.”

The curriculum is designed and led by Dr. Toldson, recently named one of the top 200 university-based scholars in the country shaping educational practice and policy. His latest book, Possibility and Statistics: How to Use Data to Illuminate Pathways to Success (Emerald Press, June 2026), provides the thinking behind the program, including two concepts that anchor the training: Bad Stats, the idea that raw attendance numbers often hide more than they reveal, and the Context Coefficient, a framework for weighing the real-world circumstances behind that data before drawing conclusions about a student.

Advocates work through real scenarios and decision points rather than sitting through lecture-style modules, and their progress is tracked automatically through Concentric’s digital credentialing system.

Once in the field, advocates rely on Concentric’s home visit app to do the job well. The app supports structured documentation, automated notetaking, and secure resource tracking, while keeping the advocate’s own judgment, not the software, at the center of every visit. The goal is straightforward: advocates spend more time with families and less time on paperwork, and school leaders end up with insights they can actually trust and act on.

“Every home visit our advocates conduct is also a data point,” said Dr. Toldson. “When we see the same pattern surface again and again, that’s not an anecdote. That’s a finding. We build it back into future iterations of our training so the next advocate walks in already knowing what to look for.”

The program’s capstone will be held at Howard University, where advocates present their fieldwork to a panel of Concentric leaders and Howard University faculty. This presentation is part of the certification requirements, ensuring every credentialed advocate has defended their work in an academic setting before earning the credential.

Additional information about Concentric Educational Solutions’ new certificate program for its Professional Student Advocates is available here. To learn more about Concentric Educational Solutions’ approach to combating chronic absenteeism, visit the company’s website, follow the organization on X, or connect on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.