The Schenck School
Turning an in-person training program into an immersive digital experience.
The
Challenge
The Schenck School is recognized as one of the top schools in the United States for students with Dyslexia. They also provide one of the best training programs for teachers who work with dyslexic students. When COVID hit in 2019, the school wanted to quickly pivot to adapt their immersive training program for online learning and continue to grow with new audiences. This required more than just implementing a Learning Management System (LMS) solution. The Schenck School needed content strategy to figure out how to bring their training into a completely different format as well as business strategy for making the program financially viable and bringing it to market successfully.
The Schenck School needed to first define a business model for their virtual training program and then create the technology and content needed to generate sustainable growth.
The Work
We started with two Design Sprints that defined the problem from a user’s perspective. Together, the team refined their strategy into what would lead to a strong product vision and customer journey. We used prototypes to gather valuable feedback from product users (teachers) to inform the product design. With a validated concept, the school was able to move forward with a plan confidently.
Design Sprint Artifacts
In two consecutive Design Sprints, the team ideated and refined features of the new online training platform. We used a simple Google Slide presentation to mock up a course experience and quickly gather feedback from users (teachers).
With sprint feedback in hand, we knew what to build. A cross-functional team of design, content and technology experts created the digital platform for the training program. We quickly validated the first iteration of the product experience with customers and designed a roadmap for subsequent iterations. We continued to build and test in rapid sprints and worked with the school’s program directors to transform their in-person courses into an engaging and immersive digital experience.
Course Content Planning
The in-person curriculum had to be adapted to an online format that would succeed with users. Below are notes from the course content redesign work.
4
Months
to define, build, and launch an MVP solution grounded in user needs
The Results
In less than four months, the school’s first online training platform launched with a very positive response from both customers and strategic partners. To ensure the school was set up for success with their new platform, we coached the school’s team of educators to manage their new platform from day one into the future as it scales. The platform continues to generate revenue for the school, has a 4.6 star user rating, and is improving outcomes for teachers and young readers nationwide.
4.6 ★
Avg Course Rating
since launch of the training platform
“As soon as we hit live, we had hundreds of teachers enroll. Within three months, we recovered our entire investment, and are now having discussions we would have never had before.”