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Thompson School District task force recommends Edmentum for districtwide online courses
Summary
After a multi-stage trial and feedback from teachers, students and neighboring districts, district staff recommended Edmentum as the single online learning platform for middle- and high-school programs, citing accessibility, NCAA alignment and lower licensing costs.
Thompson School District staff recommended adopting the Edmentum online learning platform for the district’s middle- and high-school online programs after a multi-step trial involving teachers, students, administration and ITS.
The recommendation came during a presentation by Tiffany Jones, director of curriculum and learning, and Sarah Beslinson, interim assistant superintendent of learning services. Tiffany Jones told the board the district narrowed a long list of platforms to a three-vendor trial and “Edmentum was the platform that scored the highest.”
Why it matters: staff said accessibility for students with learning needs and a single, consistent platform across middle and high school were the primary drivers. Jones said the district wanted “one-stop shop” continuity so students transitioning from middle to high school do not have to learn multiple systems.
What the trial looked like: staff convened an online task force that included teachers from programs (TOL, Source, credit recovery), ITS, administrators, parents and students. Trainers from vendors ran five-week pilots with hand-selected students to limit disruption. The district collected teacher and student feedback and returned results to the task force before voting on a recommendation to bring Edmentum forward for district adoption.
Cost, contracts and service features: presenters said the proposed contract would be a three-year commitment and includes a district-dedicated customer service manager. Jones said there is no per-teacher surcharge and “there’s no additional cost for courses that are used multiple times,” and she contrasted that with the current contract that can trigger additional fees after a certain number of license uses. Presenters also said Edmentum’s course catalog includes NCAA-verified offerings, immediate student feedback, built-in scaffolds for writing and multi-language accessibility features.
District and regional use: Jones told the board Edmentum is already used by nearby districts, including Saint Vrain, Poudre and Windsor, and staff have spoken with those districts about monitoring and implementation practices.
Board response and next steps: board members asked about deciding factors versus the FuelEd platform and about data security. Jones said “accessibility has to be our guiding factor” and that FuelEd could not be made fully accessible without multiple third-party additions. Trustees praised the adoption process for teacher and student involvement and asked staff to return with formal contract details and a proposed onboarding timeline. No purchase vote was recorded at the meeting; staff recommended the platform for formal approval at a future meeting.
Ending: Staff said they will finalize pricing and course lists, coordinate integration with Infinite Campus and ClassLink, and present a contract for board consideration. If adopted, the district plans coordinated onboarding for teachers, students and families before broad rollout.
