"Will Our Students Use It?"
- May 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 11
One administrator asked us that, kindly, before our beta started. They weren't sure their students would actually engage with the app. They'd seen tools come and go. They knew their kids.
Just one voice. But it stuck.
We took the bet anyway.
Over four weeks this spring, Spectrum Shepherd ran a beta with 8 founding partner schools across NJ, NY, VT, and MA. Public high schools. Nationally recognized private schools. Different settings, different students, one open question: would the learners we built this for actually show up?
The answer came back from the classrooms, not from us. Yes, they will use it.
Across four weeks, 50 learners completed 179 lessons. They worked on the kinds of skills that matter long after graduation: reading their own body and mind signals, sorting silverware, putting away folded and hung laundry, practicing self-advocacy, learning how to initiate a goodbyes. 94% of them rated the app easy to use. 77% said it was more engaging than how they usually learn in school. The numbers were good. But what stayed with us was the texture: kids practicing skills, at their own pace, that will shape the rest of their lives.
One classroom stood out. Newmark, in New Jersey, is an incredible school for students with learning differences. You feel their conviction the moment you walk in: the atmosphere is purposeful and warm, and the belief that every student deserves real preparation for life after school runs through everything they do. Dr. Regina Peter, Newmark's founder and executive director, didn't just open her doors. She gave us hours. A tour. Introductions to the students participating in the beta. And then, in one of the rooms, she introduced us to students so we could hear it straight.
Their feedback was unvarnished. It was also funny, in the way that only un-self-conscious feedback can be. They told us what they liked, what was boring, what they wanted more of. They were not performing for the adults in the room. It was exactly what we needed to hear.
Newmark stood out, but they did not stand alone. Across all eight schools, we met teachers and administrators who were excited, welcoming, and remarkably insightful about what their students need. Every visit, every email, every piece of feedback made the product better.
And the pattern held everywhere. Teachers ran with the tool. They set it up in minutes, tailored lessons to the students in front of them, and brought it to life in their classrooms. Students who are typically hardest to engage asked to do more lessons. One special education director told us exactly that, and we have not stopped thinking about it.
When we asked Dr. Peter whether Newmark would come on as a customer in the Fall, she called it a "no-brainer."
The doubt that lodged in us at the start, the worry that students wouldn't engage, did not survive contact with the classrooms. The kids showed up. The teachers led. The directors saw something they could use.
We are deeply grateful to the eight schools that said yes before we'd proven anything. You are the reason the next version of Shepherd will be better than the last.
This Fall, we are going live with a growing cohort of new partner schools, and the list keeps growing. If you lead a special education program, run transition services, or know someone who does, we would love to talk. The "Transition Cliff" is real. It is also not inevitable.
By the Spectrum Shepherd Co-Founders
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