"There's so much power in this platform. The features work for the individual, a department, a building, and the system as a whole. I can't imagine why anyone would be on the fence. It's going to make your job easier and fundamentally change how you lead professional learning."
When Vicki Wyld arrived as Director of Professional Learning at Shenendehowa Central School District four years ago, she stepped into a district delivering robust PD across multiple buildings. Teachers were engaging in meaningful learning. Coaches were designing thoughtful sessions. The work was happening.
The problem: that work was invisible at scale.
Professional learning was coordinated through Google Calendar invites and tracked through Google Forms. Attendance was recorded individually by teachers. Feedback was collected inconsistently, with different facilitators using different approaches. When Vicki looked across the district, she could see activity but not clarity; a partial picture of effort but not impact.
For a director with ambitious goals, this was the real challenge: Shenendehowa's professional learning had grown in scope, but the infrastructure to demonstrate its value hadn't.
About two years into her role, Vicki began evaluating professional learning management systems. The district used Frontline for evaluation, but she'd used Frontline for PD management in her previous district and found it offered little beyond signup functionality. No real visibility into what was working or why.
At Shenendehowa, the PD side faced a fundamental data problem. Attendance logging was optional. Feedback collection varied by facilitator. Without a unified approach, comparing what worked quarter to quarter or year to year was nearly impossible.
When evaluating platforms, Vicki made a strategic choice: she could adopt a system that managed logistics, or find a partner that would help her build an actual evidence base for professional learning. She chose the latter.
What made Vicki’s decision easy was the proactive support she noticed immediately. Her Client Success Manager didn't wait for Vicki to ask for help. She reached out regularly. She learned what was happening in the district. When Vicki mentioned an upcoming event, her CSM knew about it and was helping before she had to ask.
Vicki was intentional about introducing the new system, starting with the new teacher induction cohorts—teachers already meeting together throughout the year. She sent asynchronous communications to other staff groups and found the platform’s ease of use meant quick adoption.
The platform handled the complexity. Teachers didn't need extensive training because the interface was intuitive. Seat limits capped automatically. Waitlists organized themselves. Support staff could log in to prove they worked and earned their pay.
Her Client Success Manager helped her dig deeper into what the platform could do. They set up custom event groupings so teachers could find PD aligned to their content area or district goals. They built reporting dashboards so Vicki could slice the data different ways—by department, by goal, by facilitator.
Now, as Shenendehowa approaches its first full year with KickUp, Vicki will present to her Board of Education with hours by department, which district goals are supported, and year-over-year feedback trends.
The transparency has been transformative. Before, there was a Google calendar someone might check. Now, anyone in the district can search by topic or content area. The superintendent can see what's happening with one click.
Next year, Vicki is giving her instructional coaches full autonomy to create and manage sessions. She has the data to back up their quality now. Principals are integrating KickUp at their own pace—some building their own events, others requesting Vicki's team create them. Both approaches work within the same system.
The real innovation is what Vicki can do with her data now: lead with evidence instead of assumption. She can see where teacher feedback aligns with district data trends and where it diverges.
"There's a delicate balance," she says. "What we as administrators read in the data doesn't always match what teachers are asking for. Being able to measure both is really helpful."
That's the leadership opportunity KickUp opened: the ability to lead with data instead of intuition alone.
Most PL directors face the same challenge: How do you prove that professional learning works?
Before KickUp, Shenendehowa had no mechanism to demonstrate impact. There was activity, but no evidence. That meant going to the board without a story, without numbers, without proof that the investment was paying off.
Now Vicki can walk into a board meeting and show hours by department, which district goals are being supported, what feedback teachers gave, and how it tracks year over year. She's no longer managing logistics. She's leading a strategic initiative with measurable outcomes.
That's what separates professional learning as a checkbox from professional learning as a lever for improvement.
For directors defending PD budgets to skeptical boards, or sensing their work isn't driving measurable change, Vicki's experience is clear: the right system doesn't just manage professional learning. It proves why it matters.
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You can't trust everything you read on the internet.
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