The Kickboard instructional management solution for K-12 districts and schools has been named a finalist in the “Cool Tools” student academic tracking solution category of the 2015 EdTech Digest Awards. Kickboard’s founder and CEO Jennifer Medbery has likewise been honored as a finalist in the program’s Leadership Awards. Now in its fifth year, the EdTech Digest Awards honor tools, trendsetters and leaders in the education and technology sector.
“While I’m personally honored to be recognized as a finalist, everyone on our team shares the honor and recognition for how powerful and unique the Kickboard system really is,” said Medbery. “With real-time data and a 360-degree view of each child, teachers can directly impact student performance through a more transparent, collaborative approach to teaching and learning.”
The Kickboard instructional management solution is a central hub of classroom data. Using the system, teachers can develop safe and secure profiles of student performance, including grades, standards mastery, prescribed interventions, attendance and, most uniquely, student behavior and character strengths. Dashboard-to-detail reporting provides easy-to-understand, actionable information to better drive instructional decisions. The end result is a high-performing, data-driven culture where teachers make instructional decisions based on an understanding of the whole child; principals provide targeted professional development to improve teacher effectiveness; and parents become highly engaged in their child’s education.
A finalist in the “Founder/CEO” category of the Leadership Awards, Medbery founded Kickboard in 2009 after teaching disadvantaged children through Teach for America, and later at a New Orleans charter school. It was there she realized that she and her colleagues needed a way to make real-time instructional decisions based on data that showed which skills students knew, which they had yet to master, and how student behavior impacted academic achievement. Recognized as one of Forbes “Top 30 Under 30,” Medbery is a frequent panelist and speaker on effective classroom management, entrepreneurship, and the thriving tech scene in New Orleans.
“With this year’s program we are shining a spotlight on the best and brightest tools, leaders, and trendsetters,” said Victor Rivero, editor of EdTech Digest. “They are reshaping the education culture and creating a new and better future for students everywhere. We are excited to recognize them, and we salute them for their achievements.”