"Once our data was in place, the system just worked. It's been remarkably straightforward."
Adlai Stevenson High School District 125, consistently ranked among the top open-enrollment high schools in the country, needed an evaluation system that matched their high standards. Their previous platform created bottlenecks: forms couldn't be updated mid-year, the interface felt outdated, and reporting was cumbersome.
After adopting KickUp Growth, Stevenson found what they'd been looking for: a flexible, user-friendly system that handles their complex evaluation structure without the friction. The result? Smoother workflows, better data access, and a system that staff actually find easy to use.
Stevenson's previous evaluation platform hadn't kept pace with what the district actually needed. Even a small fix, a typo or an unclear question, meant recreating an entire form in a new cycle and reassigning it to every employee tied to it. For a district running 17 cycles at once, that turned routine cleanup into a real project. Reporting brought its own friction: pulling anything meaningful out of the system required workarounds that ate into time administrators didn't have to spare. And the interface itself looked and felt dated, which made staff slower to trust it in the first place.
Stevenson implemented KickUp Growth for their complete evaluation system (certified staff, non-certified staff, and administrators) —a decision district leaders felt confident making because the functionality and user experience would be superior.
Working with their KickUp Client Success Manager, Stevenson completed a structured implementation that felt controlled and well-organized. Each meeting had clear objectives, deliverables, and next steps. KickUp integrated the last three years of Stevenson’s evaluation data, ensuring administrators could reference previous summatives without leaving the system or accessing old platforms.
Because KickUp partners directly with the Danielson Group, the district's existing Danielson Framework alignment carried over cleanly instead of needing to be rebuilt from scratch. The system was configured to handle Stevenson's unique structure of 17 cycles with multiple evaluator levels, including primary and secondary evaluators. The interface proved so intuitive that planned training sessions became largely optional—most evaluators and employees logged in and started working immediately.
Intuitive User Experience:
The best evidence that a new system is working is usually quiet, and that's been the story of Stevenson's rollout. Teachers and support staff needed no training at all; they logged in and figured out the platform on their own. Evaluators needed only a light touch, since most had already found their footing before formal sessions started.
Once the annual setup is complete, the system largely runs itself. Automated deadline reminders keep all 17 cycles on track without Popper having to chase anyone down, and because updates no longer require rebuilding an entire form, small fixes happen the moment they're needed instead of waiting for a slower season. All of the district's evaluation history now lives in one searchable place too, ready when it's needed for tenure decisions and annual reviews.
Maybe the clearest measure of how well the system is working is how quiet things have gotten.
Stevenson is exploring KickUp's import feature for the next academic year, which could significantly reduce the manual work of assigning evaluators and forms. With their evaluation assignment data already maintained in spreadsheets, importing this information directly into KickUp would eliminate hundreds of manual clicks.
The district is also working with their Client Success Manager on solutions for specific workflow needs, such as ensuring only the designated evaluator can sign specific forms—preventing accidental signatures from secondary evaluators.
For a high-performing district with complex evaluation needs, Stevenson found a system that handles sophistication without adding complexity. The transition from a legacy system to KickUp proved worthwhile—delivering better functionality, easier management, and a user experience that staff actually appreciate.
When your evaluation system just works, you spend less time managing the platform and more time supporting your staff.
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You can't trust everything you read on the internet.
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