A Year of Building What Lasts

As this year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what it truly means to build something that lasts—not just something that launches well, but something strong enough to support educators every day, without adding to their workload.

That’s how I think about 2025 at Stages Learning.

This was the year ARIS crossed an important threshold. With the launch this fall of ARIS Online, it moved beyond being a new product and became something closer to infrastructure—a system educators rely on as part of their daily work.

In the few short months since its launch nearly 200 school districts actively use ARIS Online, with over 1700 classrooms engaging on the platform across virtually all 50 states. That reach matters—not as a vanity metric, but as evidence that the system is trusted in diverse classrooms, districts, and instructional models nationwide.

Why infrastructure matters

When infrastructure works well, it fades into the background. It reduces friction, connects information, and supports consistency—without demanding constant attention. You notice it most when it’s missing: when teams rebuild systems every year, when data lives in too many places, or when compliance and documentation compete with instruction.

In special education especially, the complexity of what educators are asked to manage has grown faster than the systems designed to support them. Too often, the burden falls on individual teachers to hold everything together.

ARIS Online was built to change that.

This year, as adoption deepened, we heard something meaningful from educators: they didn’t talk about features—they talked about what they no longer had to manage on their own. That’s when you know a system fits.

Built for sustainability at scale

We were intentional about how we built this year. We chose depth over speed. We stayed close to classrooms. And we resisted the urge to add complexity where simplicity would serve better.

Our goal has never been to ask educators to adapt to technology. It’s to design systems that adapt to how educators already work—supporting clarity, consistency, and informed decision-making at both the classroom and district level.

For district leaders and superintendents, this means a platform that supports instructional integrity, improves visibility, and reduces fragmentation—without replacing professional judgment or adding administrative burden.

Perspective and responsibility

This year also brought personal perspective for me through my acceptance into MIT’s Executive MBA program. Being immersed in an environment that sits at the forefront of artificial intelligence, systems design, and long-term impact has been both grounding and clarifying. Engaging in conversations about these weighty topics reinforced something I’ve always believed: meaningful innovation isn’t about novelty. It’s about building tools that can carry real complexity—reliably and responsibly.

That sense of responsibility—especially as intelligent systems become more embedded in education—shapes how ARIS Online is built and where it’s going next.

Looking ahead

As expectations on educators continue to rise, sustainability matters more than ever. Our focus is not on speeding people up, but on reducing friction, clarifying decisions, and supporting earlier, more confident action—while keeping human expertise at the center.

That’s not just a roadmap. It’s a commitment.

Gratitude

I’m grateful to the educators and district leaders who trusted us this year—and to those who were honest about where we can do better. I’m grateful to the Stages Learning team for choosing durability over shortcuts.

As we move into the year ahead, our focus remains clear: to keep building infrastructure that respects educators’ time, judgment, and humanity.

That responsibility matters. We take it seriously.