Whether you're color-coding your lesson plans, decorating your classroom for the tenth time, or just trying to remember where you left your good stapler, we see you! Back-to-school is equal parts chaos and magic, and we're so excited to have you kicking it off with Otus. Grab a coffee ☕ and check these out!

📋 Your Back-to-School Prep Checklist

✅ 📖 Master Your First 30 Days!

Everything you need to know to get your Otus account classroom-ready from day one!

✅📝 Free Assessment Library

Skip the from-scratch grind! Browse pre-built, teacher-created assessments and templates ready to drop into your classes.

✅🤝 Connect With Your Students

Strong teacher-student relationships are built through consistent, intentional communication. Use these Otus tools to stay connected, celebrate growth, and spark meaningful conversations.

🗺️ Your Otus Resource Map

Use this map to quickly find the right resource for whatever you need, whether you’re looking to learn something new, troubleshoot, or connect with others!

💜 You've got this, and we've got you!

We're here for you all year long, not just at the start. If you ever get stuck or have a quick question, just click the chat bubble in the bottom corner of your Otus screen to reach our support team in real time. Here's to growing minds and the difference you're about to make this school year!

Complete the Challenge, Earn Swag! 🚀

Complete all 5 tasks below, share your proof, and we'll send you some Otus swag as a thank-you for setting yourself up for success. 🏆

How it works:

1️⃣ Complete each task below

2️⃣ Take a screenshot showing it's done

3️⃣ Submit screenshots via Google Form by 9/30/26

4️⃣ We'll verify and ship your swag! 📦

✅ The Challenge:

1️⃣ Confirm Your Classes

• Task: Verify all your classes for the new year are showing correctly.
• Proof: Screenshot of your class list.

2️⃣ Check Grade Levels

• Task: Check that your classes have a grade level assigned to them.
• Proof: Screenshot of one class with the correct grade level selected.

📖 Need help? Check out this article.

3️⃣ Organize Assessments

• Task: Create a folder (or folders) to organize your assessments for the new year.
• Proof: Screenshot of your assessments organized into folders.

📖Need Help? Check out this article.

4️⃣ Personalize User Profile

• Task: Click the profile icon in the bottom left corner of your screen and select Edit Profile. Add or change your profile picture, and edit your name and phone number.
• Proof: Screenshot of your updated profile.

📖Need Help? Check out this article.

5️⃣ Explore What's New

• Task: Bookmark the Otus Help Center for quick reference this year.
• Proof: Screenshot showing the Help Center page open.

🎉 Submit all 5 via the Google Form by 9/30/26 to claim your Otus swag!

📅 More Challenges Ahead!

This is just the beginning; we'll be running a new challenge every month, so keep an eye out for fresh ways to earn Otus swag throughout the year. Have questions about this challenge or anything else? Reach out anytime using the Otus chat feature. We're happy to help! 💬

New Feature Highlights!

New Family Experience

We're rolling out the NEW Family Experience, a redesigned, mobile-friendly hub for parents and guardians to stay connected to their child's learning. Families can log in at my.otus.com to view a Student Dashboard with an instant snapshot of academic progress, then explore Classes, Assessments, and Standards for more detailed grades, scores, and completion status. No app download is required, and the experience works on any device. As teachers and admins may field questions from families adjusting to the new layout, it's helpful to be familiar with what they'll see, including multi-student profile switching for families with more than one child at your school.

Advanced Assessment: Builder Redesign

We've redesigned the Advanced Assessments Builder for a smoother, more streamlined experience. The updated look gives you a clearer, more comfortable space to build your items. In the Manage Standards modal, you'll now see the complete breadcrumb path for each standard, making it easier to confirm you've selected the right one. The Mastery Item Bank filter also has a revamped layout for a more streamlined search experience. Plus, you can now link and unlink standards directly from the bottom half of the page while adding or editing items, keeping everything you need in one place.

Catch Up on Our Top Otus Lives!

• Overview of Historical Analytics
• Create Recognitions to Track Student Behavior
• Create & Schedule a Blog Post
• Using Respondus Lockdown Browser
• The Notification Feed and To-Do List (Teachers)

What's New in the Otus Community?

Register for Regional Workshops:

• Fountain Fort Carson, CO - August 6th
• Alamosa, CO - August 11th
• Westfield, NJ - October 12th

ISTE

ISTE was a huge success this year! Thank you to everyone who worked the booth and supported us off-site. We met almost 1,000 people.

Big Wins and Headlines!

We were named winners in both Primary & Secondary Education categories of the Tech & Learning Best of Show! The evaluation criteria included ease of use, overall value, market uniqueness, and clear evidence that the product streamlines teachers' workflows and supports student achievement.

New Feature Highlights!

Insights AI - 3rd Party Analytics Integration

• Otus Insights now supports 3rd Party data, allowing educators to instantly analyze external data sources without having to build reports in advance. Users can ask the Insights AI Assistant questions about any uploaded 3rd-Party data, and the AI evaluates data across the entire platform to identify trends and fuel more impactful decision-making.

Archiving Individual Custom Standards

• Main Admins can now archive individual custom standards within the Control Center, removing them from the active standards browser while preserving all historical student data and visualizations. This keeps your standards list clean and current without losing any data tied to those standards.

Display Student Attributes in Plans Header

• Admins can now select student attributes that appear in the Plans header, giving educators instant access to the information that matters most. Choose from Site(s), Grade Level, SIS ID, State ID, Student Number, Email, Ethnicity/Race, and Gender. Surfacing the right details upfront means less clicking around and more time focused on supporting students.

Catch Up on Our Top 5 Otus Lives!

• Rubrics: Performance-Based Grading
• AI Insights: Assessment Analytics
• Standards Analytics: Student Mastery in Otus
• Plans: Track Student Goals
• Reports: Build a Query

What's New in the Otus Community?

Register for Regional Workshops:

• Fountain Fort Carson, CO - August 6th
• Alamosa, CO - August 11th (coming soon)
• Westfield, NJ - October 12th (coming soon)

The 2026 Otus Excellence Awards recipients have been announced!

Big Wins and Headlines!

We are excited to share that Otus is a CODiE finalist in the following categories. Winners are announced next month, so stay tuned!

• Best Evidence Management Solution (AI Insights)
• Best Productivity & Workflow Tool for Teachers
• Best Suite of Connected/Integrated Solutions (AI Insights)
• Best Student Learning Capacity-Building Solution (for Otus + MindPrint)

🏆 We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Otus Excellence Awards Winners!

These awards recognize and celebrate educators and districts in the Otus community, spotlighting their impact on student learning and growth through innovation, engagement, and data-driven practices.

🤩 Notable Highlights

• Kaitlin Fields: State ILEARN proficiency increased from 20% to 36.8% in two years
• Qadir Abdus-Salam: Learned the platform himself before bringing knowledge to his teachers; SAT math outcomes improved
• Olivia Foster: Fluency rates increased from 46% to 78% in six weeks
• Kayla Elam: Led workshops and built the entire ELA team's CFA data process
• Pamela Crawford: Nominated independently by three different people

Congratulations to our 2026 Otus Excellence Award recipients! Thank you for the incredible impact you make each day in support of your staff, students, and families. We are honored to partner with educators who are deeply committed to student success and innovation. Your dedication inspires us, and we look forward to celebrating all that you will continue to accomplish and the meaningful impact you will make in the years ahead! 🚀

🎙️ Otus Shines on the Pod!

Otus President and Co-Founder Chris Hull sat down with the Learning Can't Wait Podcast to talk about what it really takes to put students at the center of every decision. Highlights from the conversation:

• Why student support should start with the story already in view
• How the right data helps schools answer the question behind the question
• The role AI can play and where educators will always be irreplaceable

"When a student has an aha moment, there is no better fuel in any profession. It is honestly breathtaking."
​Chris Hull, President & Co-Founder of Otus

✨ Real Results: Otus + Discovery Ed

Otus and Discovery Education have teamed up in West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District (NJ)! Through this partnership, WWP educators now have:

• All student data, including DreamBox Math insights, in one place
• Stronger PLC collaboration with targeted grouping and intervention tools
• A complete student plan with goals visible to families and staff

"The addition of Otus improves our educators' ability to easily pull and analyze achievement data and then adjust instruction to improve student outcomes."
​Allan Johnson, Supervisor of Technology, Training, & Media Sources, WWP

We love seeing districts put their data to work in such a meaningful way. This is exactly why we do what we do at Otus - helping educators spend less time searching for answers and more time changing outcomes for kids. We can't wait to see what's next! 🙌

Congrats, Juanita Butler!
✨Otus Educator of the Month✨

🏆 Words from the Winner 🏆

"I use Otus in a lot of ways, but the way I am trying to use it the most is getting my students involved with Otus. I have them complete lessons as their independent work, they upload pieces of writing for assessment, and I have them practice their fluency passages by recording themselves in the advanced assessments."

Juanita is really getting her students involved in their learning, and it shows! 🎉 It's so exciting to see teachers using Otus in ways that put students at the center. That kind of engagement makes all the difference. We are so happy and grateful to have you in our community, Juanita! Thank you for sharing and for being such an inspiration to educators everywhere. Keep up the incredible work! 👏

📤 Get ready for FREE Otus swag 📥

Have a Simple, points-based assessment? Send it our way for free swag - Everyone is a winner!

The Otus Community Assessment Exchange is a shared assessment folder within Otus where educators can explore and share points-based, simple assessments created by other Otus users. It’s designed to encourage collaboration and idea-sharing across the Otus community!

Learn more here!

💪 Become an Otus pro!

😎 Summer OCE Session: Jun 24th - Aug 12th 2026

Join our Otus Certified Educators program.

✔️ Self-paced ✔️ Earn Otus gear ✔️ Free to all

• Join the Otus Educator Group on Facebook.
• Check out the Otus Community Page.

👏 Enhancements

3rd-Party: Manage Teacher Access in Control Center

Main administrators can now adjust teacher visibility settings, allowing them to manage access to third-party assessments and attempts.

Teacher Groups: Add and Search for Administrators

Main Admins can now add and search for Administrators in Teacher Groups.

📚 Answers Right at Your Fingertips

The Otus Help Center is your go-to resource for any step-by-step guides, tips, and answers to common questions, all handcrafted by the Otus team. Each article is thoughtfully created to help you make the most of your Otus experience!

💬 In-App Chat Tool

The Otus in-app chat feature offers real-time support right within Otus. Whether you have a quick question or need more detailed assistance, we’re here to help. Just click the chat icon in the bottom corner and answer a few quick prompts to get started!

🎬 Otus Live highlight reel

Otus Live videos are short, interactive PD sessions designed to help you get more out of Otus.

• Advanced Assessments: Math Keypads
• Advanced Assessments: Cloze with Drop Down Questions
• 3rd Party Analytics: Create Student Groups
• Standards Analytics: Filter by Assessment

🎁 Earn Exclusive Otus Swag!

Tune in to Otus Live videos, whether you join live or watch the recordings, and begin earning rewards.

• 15 views: Swag Box (tumbler + blanket)
• 50 views: Adidas sweatshirt

WOW! Otus takes home THREE Stevie Awards at the 2026 American Business Awards.

🥇Gold: AI Breakthrough of the Year

🥉Bronze: AI Leader of the Year - Chris Hull, President & Co-Founder

🥉Bronze: Customer Service Department of the Year

These awards recognize the impact of Otus AI, the embedded assistant that gives school leaders instant, actionable answers about student performance. By unifying academic, behavioral, cognitive, and attendance data in a secure environment, Otus AI helps educators move from scattered spreadsheets to clear, confident decisions.

We're especially proud to see Chris Hull recognized as a Bronze winner in the AI Leader of the Year category. Chris's journey from classroom educator to EdTech leader has always been driven by one goal: helping teachers see the whole child. His vision brought Otus AI to life, and this honor reflects the dedication he brings to responsible, educator-focused innovation every day.

The Bronze in Customer Service Department of the Year is a win for our entire Client Success team, recognized for our real-time, human-centered support of educators, especially throughout the 2025 launch of Otus AI. Congrats to all 🙌