BLOOMINGTON, MN (Aug. 12, 2025) — Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is launching a bold wave of innovations for the 2025–2026 school year—designed to reimagine how educators teach, how students learn, and how leaders drive impact. From AI-powered lesson creation to culturally relevant Spanish-language resources and transformative data insights, Renaissance is delivering tools that ignite engagement, accelerate learning, and empower every educator to make the most of every moment.
“Our goal is to help teachers reclaim time and amplify impact,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance. “With nearly 40 years of experience and the voices of thousands of educators guiding us, we’re building solutions that are not only smart—they’re deeply human-centered.”
Highlights of Renaissance’s back-to-school innovations
Nearpod AI Create: Teaching transformed
New AI capabilities in Nearpod enable educators to instantly generate high-quality, interactive content tailored to any topic—bringing speed, precision, and creativity to lesson planning:
- AI Question Generator: Creates rigorous, standards-aligned multiple-choice questions and delivers real-time insights to help teachers track progress and adapt instruction.
- AI Lesson Generator: Transforms any topic into a fully customizable, grade-appropriate lesson that is interactive, engaging, and ready to teach.
- AI Literacy Lessons: Embedded in Nearpod’s 21st Century Readiness Program, these lessons equip students with essential skills in AI literacy, digital citizenship, and future-ready thinking.
“We didn’t just build AI tools—we built better lessons,” said Vanessa Gonzalez Cerullo, Vice President of Product Management for Nearpod. “Our team of engineers and curriculum experts worked hand-in-hand to ensure every AI-generated lesson reflects best practices and real classroom needs.”
Flocabulary Español: Culturally relevant learning for Spanish speakers
Flocabulary Español debuts a vibrant new collection of Spanish-language lessons and videos, designed to support Spanish-speaking students in building foundational comprehension skills. These lessons reimagine popular English Flocabulary content with the same signature rhythm, rigor, and engagement—now crafted by Spanish-speaking lyricists, artists, and educators.
The result: authentic, standards-aligned content that celebrates culture, supports biliteracy, and inspires learning.
Renaissance ecosystem: Unified insights, unmatched impact
Renaissance continues to evolve its ecosystem to deliver smarter connections, deeper insights, and more personalized support for educators and leaders:
- Renaissance Next for Teachers: Seamlessly connects Star Assessments with core curriculum, enabling targeted instruction, differentiation, and intervention.
- “We’re aligning assessment, instruction, and data to give educators a clear path to student success,” said Brekhus.
- Renaissance Next for Leaders: A powerful new homepage for administrators, offering unified, actionable insights to optimize implementation and demonstrate measurable impact. The enhanced AI-powered Explain It feature translates complex data into clear, shareable summaries.
- Star Evaluaciones: Formerly Star Assessments in Spanish, this reimagined tool offers authentic, expert-developed assessments—not translations. New biliteracy trajectories provide a holistic view of bilingual students’ literacy development in both Spanish and English.
- eduCLIMBER enhancements: New visualizations for chronic absenteeism and behavior trends help districts intervene earlier and more effectively, replacing spreadsheets with dynamic, actionable dashboards.
“These innovations aren’t just upgrades—they’re game-changers,” said Brekhus. “They help educators see every student more clearly and act more confidently.”
To explore all of the new features for the 2025–2026 school year, download the full overview or visit the Renaissance Product Updates Blog.
About Renaissance
As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.
Contact for Media Queries Only
Kate Lilja Lohnes, Lilja Communications
(952) 893-7140
kate@lilja.com
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