Thank you to everyone who joined our 2026 Educator Kickoff Webinar. We were excited to connect with so many educators and share how we’re evolving educator support in 2026.

This session introduced several initiatives designed to bring more clarity, structure, and opportunities for connection within the educator community.

If you weren’t able to attend live, you can watch the full recording below and explore additional resources and FAQs.

2026 Kickoff Recap

🎥 Webinar Recording
Link: 2026 Educator Kickoff Webinar Passcode: =uG1w=iN

What We Covered

During the webinar, we shared several updates focused on improving how educators receive information, connect with one another, and access programming.

These updates include:

Educator Pathways

We introduced Educator Pathways, a new framework designed to support educators at different stages of their teaching journey.

The three pathways are:

Foundations
For educators launching classes, building consistency, or re-establishing momentum.

Momentum
For educators who are actively growing enrollments and expanding their class offerings.

Trailblazer
For educators operating at sustained scale and helping model strong community leadership.

Pathways help us provide more relevant communication and programming based on the stage educators are in.

Pathway placement considers a combination of signals including sustained demand patterns, reliability, and overall platform activity. Pathways are reviewed periodically and may change over time.

A New Structured Educator Community

We also shared that Outschool will begin transitioning from the current Facebook group toward a more structured educator community space.

This new space will allow us to:

• Organize conversations more clearly
• Create dedicated spaces for different educator topics
• Support pathway-based discussions
• Host programming such as office hours and webinars

The transition will happen gradually to ensure the community launches smoothly.

The Mentor Cohort

We are also introducing a Mentor Cohort, a small group of experienced educators who will help support the community by:

• Hosting office hours and discussions
  • Helping guide conversations in the educator community
  • Providing feedback on educator resources
  • Supporting peer learning

Mentors will primarily support educators participating in the Foundations and Momentum pathways.

Mentors are selected based on several factors, including:

• A consistently positive and constructive presence in educator spaces
• A willingness to support and encourage other educators
• Strong familiarity with teaching on Outschool
• Comfort with technology and online communication tools
• Recommendations from the Outschool team based on community engagement 

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please fill out this form.

Expanded Programming for Educators

In response to educator feedback asking for more training opportunities, we will also be launching additional programming throughout the year.

Upcoming sessions will include topics such as:

• How Educator Support Works
• Trust & Safety updates
• Marketing and discoverability strategies
• Marketplace trends and supply insights

All sessions will be recorded and shared with educators.

Frequently Asked Questions

We received many thoughtful questions during the webinar. To make it easier to find answers, we’ve created dedicated FAQ pages for each of the initiatives discussed.

You can explore them below:

Educator Pathways FAQ

Educator Community (Slack) FAQ

Mentor Cohort FAQ

Additional questions from educators will continue to be added as the rollout progresses.

What Happens Next

These updates will roll out gradually over the coming months.

Upcoming steps include:

• Launching the initial mentor cohort
• Beginning the pilot of the new educator community space
• Expanding educator programming and training sessions

Educators will receive communication as new elements of the program become available.

Thank You

We’re grateful for the feedback educators have shared and for the role you play in shaping the Outschool community.

Our goal for 2026 is to bring more clarity, stronger connections, and better support to educators across the platform.

Thank you for being part of the Outschool educator community.