The U.S. education sector has undergone staffing challenges for years. Burnout continues to drive many teachers out of their careers, and fewer college graduates are pursuing teaching as a profession. The ongoing teacher shortage has driven innovators to build modern solutions to fill this gap. Austin-based Propello is one such company.
Propello’s platform lets teachers build individualized curriculums for their students through interactive digital textbooks. These textbooks come equipped with tools for adjusting the level of text to various reading levels, translating text into other languages and more, Brandi Eppolito, Propello’s VP of marketing, told Built In. From there, teachers use a drag-and-drop interface to customize lesson plans for each student, complete with tests and formative assessments.
“A lot of our thought exercises here are around how we can really shift the status quo in education and how we can give people the confidence [and] the tools to change the way children are taught and teachers learn to teach,” Eppolito said.
The company’s solution enables students to work digitally as well as physically through real-world projects and experiments. Propello’s blended learning tool aims to provide teachers with extra support for all the work they do in and outside of the classroom. Alongside educating, teachers often conduct social and emotional work with students, assist colleagues with planning and development and work with their communities to gather resources for their school, said Amanda Bratten, VP of content and curriculum at Propello.
According to Propello’s website, its free solution cuts teachers’ prep time in half.
“As a former teacher myself, I recognize the need to be able to support educators in the work that they’re doing because they are doing so many things besides teaching,” Bratten said. “I left the classroom because I needed to find a way to support people like me who could have gone on to do great things in the classroom but just didn’t have anything left.”
Propello spun out of Swedish edtech company NE and announced its public launch in January. The company currently offers science curriculums for middle school and early high school-aged students and serves educators across the U.S. and the U.K. An English language arts, or ELA, program for grades 6 through 8 is in the works. The company plans to launch pilot units of its ELA program by the start of the 2023-24 school year and have the program ready for full use by the spring of 2024.
Propello also plans to expand its middle school and early high school-aged content into additional subject areas including social studies and math. The company eventually aims to serve kindergarten through fifth-grade students as well.
Bratten said Propello’s goal isn’t to be the number one solution for students, but rather a supporting tool for teachers. When a teacher feels competent and supported and cares about their work, it is reflected upon their students. When teachers feel overburdened, it’s hard to be a good teacher, Bratten said.
“Being able to provide that support, being able to provide some of those pieces of education and guidance to [teachers] … that’s what we want to do,” Bratten said.
