Company: Curriculum Associates, Billerica, MA
Company Description: Committed to making classrooms a better place, Curriculum Associates develops research-based print and online instructional materials, screens, assessments, and data management tools that support equitable learning experiences. More than 800,000 teachers turn to Curriculum Associates to foster learning of over 12.5 million K-12 students.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Department of the Year - Public Services & Education
 Nomination Title: Curriculum Associates
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated department, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- Briefly describe the nominated department: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
Believing every child can succeed given the right tools and support, Curriculum Associates is an edtech company committed to making classrooms better places for everyone. Curriculum Associates develops research-based instructional materials, assessments, and data management tools that support equitable learning experiences for all. More than 800,000 educators in all 50 states and internationally turn to Curriculum Associates to support learning experiences for 12.5 million K-12 students (a third of the nation’s K-8 students).
Each customer is not only paired with a customer service team member, but a dedicated account manager who understands and meets their needs. Technical support experts work with customers to ensure a quality experience, and the company’s sales representatives provide strategic advice and product knowledge.
Commitment to service extends to digital support through the free i-Ready® Central and Ready® Central customer portals. Accessible 24/7, these tools – which include training videos and planning tools – help customers get started and ensure successful implementation.
Curriculum Associates offers an in-person professional development training program to teach best education practices. This program includes district-wide training and multiple school site visits, allowing Curriculum Associates to delve deeper into student data and work closely with teachers to drive gains.
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Outline the department's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 226 words used.
After the pandemic, school shutdowns highlighted the importance of virtual and/or hybrid learning. Call volume increased from parents and grandparents, including where English was not the primary language. As a response to this need, beginning in 2020 Curriculum Associates hired additional bilingual customer service staff and launched its Spanish language support service, i-Ready Ayuda in 2021 to meet the long-term need for Spanish support.
Furthermore, Curriculum Associates implemented proactive monitoring and support to offer unmatched customer service. The tech team detects issues on student devices, or along the network that could impede their i-Ready experience and works with businesses partners to alert, triage and identify root causes – preventing issues from every impacting learning in the classroom. This service has been implemented in hundreds of school districts so far -- allowing teachers to teach and students to learn without technology getting in the way. The proactive monitoring has led to fewer IT cases reported, because Curriculum Associates is able to work with school districts to proactively solve problems (see chart attached).
For Curriculum Associate's response to demand and unfinished learning, the company received the COVID Response: Best Customer Experience in EdTech by the CODiE Awards and was recognized as a World Changing Idea (COVID-19 Response specific) by Fast Company, in addition to several customer service awards by the Customer Sales & Service World Awards.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 11 words used.
Supporting materials for the above information are in the attached document.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the department's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 215 words used.
With over 40% of employees working in service roles, Curriculum Associates leads the industry in customer experience. Despite handling more 60,000 cases in the 2021-2022 school year, Curriculum Associates' average speed-to-answer time is just 30.15 seconds, and fewer than 3.8% of calls are abandoned, a number which far exceeds the industry average of approximately 15%. The team resolves 91.44% of cases within 1-2 days; proactively monitors the user experience; and partners with technical leads at schools to ensure great results throughout the year. Moreover, a money-back guarantee is offered on all products to ensure 100% customer satisfaction. This experience builds customer loyalty and is reflected in the stellar 94.4% renewal rate. To best support students and educators, Curriculum Associates has also increased their proactive monitoring by 71% year to year to provide unmatched service and identify the root causes of issues before learning is impacted.
So far during the 2022-2023 back-to-school season, Curriculum Associates handled nearly 25,000 cases, with more than 91% of them being resolved within one day. Moreover only 0.36% of calls have been abandoned, and zero cases have been backlogged for more than one business day. Curriculum Associates continues to focus on efficiencies in support process flows, resulting in quicker turnaround for educator inquiries.
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