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Hernando schools to move Wayground forward after pilot; board seeks training and usage metrics
Summary
Instructional-technology staff recommended replacing Seesaw and Nearpod with Wayground after a district pilot; presenters cited $48,000–$50,000 in savings and accessibility features, while board members asked for prioritized teacher training and usage data and directed staff to place adoption on the next agenda.
Jesse Diaz, supervisor of instructional technology, recommended adopting Wayground as a unified instructional engagement platform to replace Seesaw and Nearpod. Diaz said the district ran a three-month pilot and that Wayground would deliver districtwide teacher efficiency and consolidated reporting. "Correct — Way would take over," Diaz said when asked whether the other two platforms would be dismissed.
Jess Syler, speaking for Wayground, outlined financials and functionality: a district license was cited at about $77,000, and Diaz said consolidating tools should save roughly $48,000–$50,000 relative to maintaining both Seesaw and Nearpod. The proposed contract term is one year, matching the current cadence for those products. Pilot participation was described as roughly 100 officially enrolled teachers and nearly 400 teachers who used the product districtwide during the trial.
Board members repeatedly emphasized professional development and post-adoption monitoring. A board member said teachers must receive more than "a short small snippet" of training if the district wants to realize the program's full value; Diaz said technology staff will prioritize training, support teachers via Teams, and that additional training sessions were scheduled. Mr. Pender and other members requested usage metrics on the existing tools so the district can ensure it is optimizing budgets and not paying for underused products.
Presenters highlighted accessibility and special-education supports as a distinguishing feature. Charlotte North (Delton Elementary) said Wayground can follow a student's accommodations (read-aloud, reduced choices, translation, dyslexia font) across assessments: "Once I set Jesse's accommodations, it doesn't matter what assessment Jesse's taking ... they follow me." Board members asked Diaz to work with special-education staff to ensure case managers and school-level leads help teachers apply accommodations.
No final adoption vote occurred in the workshop. The board directed staff to place Wayground on the next board meeting agenda (the 23rd) for consideration/possible adoption and asked for a follow-up report, including usage metrics and a January status update after first-semester implementation.
