Otus Announces Winners of the 2026 Otus Excellence Awards for Their Impact on Student Learning and Growth

Press, Edtech Tools

Otus, the leading K-12 assessment, data, and insights solution, today announced the winners of the annual Otus Excellence Awards, which recognize and celebrate outstanding educators and districts in the Otus community. The seven winners were selected for their impact on student learning and growth through innovation, engagement, and data-driven practices.

“The Otus Excellence Awards shine a spotlight on the incredible impact educators can have on student success through clear, consistent, comprehensive data. We received more than 200 nominations from across the U.S., and we were blown away by the quality and depth of expertise.”

Chris Hull

Co-founder and President
,
Otus

Outstanding District

Recognizing a district that has embraced Otus to drive meaningful student growth, collaboration, and innovation across schools.

Weld County School District Re-3J, CO

Through its use of Otus as both an instructional and analytical tool, Weld Re-3J has transformed Graduate Profile implementation from a conceptual framework into a measurable, student-centered system. Teachers and administrators leverage Otus to track student progress on Graduate Profile competencies, including communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and self-direction, using common, district-developed rubrics embedded directly within the platform.

Outstanding Administrator

Recognizing a leader who turns Otus data into action—supporting teams, identifying trends, and driving student success with insight and clarity.

Qadir Abdus-Salaam - Norwalk Public Schools, CT

Mr. Abdus-Salaam exemplifies data-informed instructional leadership. As part of a schoolwide Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle focused on math SAT growth, Mr. Abdus-Salaam built SAT-aligned assessments within Otus, allowing teachers to better monitor student progress toward specific benchmarks and informing data-driven conversations. This deep-dive initiative has resulted in more intentional instruction, targeted interventions, and measurable progress in math SAT outcomes.

Outstanding Coach/Specialist

Recognizing an educator who supports others in mastering Otus through training, modeling, and championing professional growth.

Kaitlin Fields - Metropolitan School District Washington Township, IN

The short assessments Ms. Fields creates within Otus help teachers in grades 6 through 8 monitor student progress toward standards mastery, leading up to the state-required ILEARN assessment. In addition, her data analysis informs targeted small-group instruction and just-in-time intervention. After just two years, middle schoolers’ average proficiency level on the ILEARN summative assessment has increased 16.8 percentage points to 36.8%.

AI Champion

Recognizing an educator who uses AI-powered analytics and visualization to take meaningful actions guided by student data.

Martin Rosenberger - Bullitt County Schools, KY

Mr. Rosenberger has seen measurable improvements in students’ mastery and confidence since integrating AI-powered analytics when forming groups, assigning targeted practice, and monitoring growth across units. His encouragement for learners to review their own data within Otus has created a classroom culture where students talk about growth, celebrate mastery, and see mistakes as information rather than failure.

Outstanding Teacher

Recognizing classroom educators who demonstrate enthusiasm and a data-driven mindset to become confident and impactful users.

K-Grade 5: Olivia Foster - Jefferson County Public Schools, KY

Ms. Foster has increased her students’ math performance significantly by using Otus assessments and standards tagging to track mastery of priority skills weekly and adjust small groups quickly for targeted intervention.

Grade 6-8: Kayla Elam - Canton Union School District 66, IL

Ms. Elam has fully embraced using Otus, learning the platform inside out and transferring knowledge to the rest of the seventh-grade ELA team, which leads its district in teacher and student use of Otus.

Grade 9-12: Pamela Crawford - Bulloch County, GA

Ms. Crawford uses Otus to design biology assessments to closely reflect the style and content of the Georgia Biology EOC, to prepare students for success on rigorous class assignments, and to monitor progress so she can provide targeted support for struggling learners.

“We are delighted to honor these talented professionals. They inspire us to continue to innovate as we build tools that fit seamlessly into their everyday work and empower them to make smarter decisions faster for their classrooms, schools, and districts.”

Chris Hull

Co-founder and President
,
Otus

The Otus Excellence Awards winners receive a certificate and a complimentary training day.