Custom Learning Services demoed

ISTE+ASCD is pitching districts on a new Custom Learning Services offer that starts with a needs assessment and builds targeted professional learning around curriculum, instruction, leadership, equity, and technology. (information.ascd.org) The organization says the service is designed as expert-led support for schools and districts, not a standalone software product. Its public materials describe customized learning plans, embedded coaching, workshops, webinars, and on-site or virtual support. (information.ascd.org, information.ascd.org) ASCD’s current service page says it has conducted “200+ sessions” in the previous 18 months across those topic areas. The same page highlights curriculum work aimed at standards-aligned design and student engagement, alongside instructional technology meant to support personalization rather than replace teaching. (information.ascd.org) The pitch reflects how the merged ISTE+ASCD organization now frames school improvement work: pedagogy first, tools second. When the two groups finalized their merger on November 14, 2022, both said the goal was to combine ISTE’s technology focus with ASCD’s evidence-based pedagogy and professional learning. (iste.org, ascd.org) That approach has become more explicit as districts sort through post-pandemic learning recovery and new artificial intelligence spending. In a February 23, 2026 announcement with Google, ISTE+ASCD said its national AI training effort would emphasize pedagogy, ethics, instructional alignment, bias awareness, and student agency. (iste.org) The Custom Learning Services materials make the same case in district terms. The overview brochure says each partnership begins with a “tailored needs assessment,” then moves to local capacity building and continuous coaching so school systems can refine support as priorities shift. (information.ascd.org) ASCD’s examples in that brochure center on curriculum alignment, differentiated strategies, coaching, and classroom management, including a case tied to declining math scores in Killeen Independent School District. Those examples put remediation inside daily teaching practice instead of treating engagement as a device-access problem alone. (information.ascd.org) The larger bet is that districts will spend professional learning dollars on diagnosing what students are missing and helping teachers respond in class, one subject and one skill gap at a time. ISTE+ASCD’s own materials describe that work as a sustained partnership, not a quick technology rollout. (information.ascd.org, information.ascd.org)