From adoption to everyday impact: How New Braunfels ISD is expanding its use of MagicSchool

"Now I feel like I can actually sit down and talk to my students. I can get to know them again."

That's what one New Braunfels Independent School District (ISD) teacher told Lauren Shelton, an Instructional Technology Specialist and MagicSchool Ambassador, after discovering how MagicSchool could help with everyday tasks like creating exit tickets and warm-up activities. For a district focused on making technology meaningful for educators and students, it's exactly the kind of moment leaders hope to see more often.

Located between Austin and San Antonio, Texas, New Braunfels ISD's journey with MagicSchool began with teachers exploring the free platform and discovering new ways to make their days easier. As interest grew, district leaders saw an opportunity to bring that same support to more classrooms.

With MagicSchool Enterprise, the district is putting their vision into practice with custom tools that simplify lesson planning and quizzes tailored to students' needs. Educators are also beginning to explore how learning insights could help strengthen instruction.

Here's how New Braunfels ISD is turning early enthusiasm into meaningful classroom impact.

Challenges

Helping teachers make the most of their time and resources

Between lesson planning, assessments, and meeting individual student needs, teachers have a lot to juggle. And even with great resources available, finding the time to make the most of them can be a challenge.

At New Braunfels ISD, educators had access to comprehensive curriculum programs, but navigating those materials to plan lessons could be time-consuming. A limited bank of assessment questions also made it harder to create rigorous quizzes tailored to students' different learning needs.

The district wanted to make teachers' work easier while giving them technology they could use confidently in their classrooms. Student data privacy was an important consideration, along with having a platform designed specifically for education and clear information about its safety practices.

"We really try to be limited in what we purchase and how much we spend on products," says Carrie Hyland, Director of Instructional Technology. "But we knew our teachers were already using MagicSchool because of the trainings we were doing. So it made sense for us to start looking into it a little bit further."

Solutions

Build custom tools around real classroom needs

For Lauren Shelton, the inspiration for the district's custom tools came from a conversation with one teacher.

"We started with one teacher who was feeling overwhelmed by her curriculum," Lauren remembers. "We thought, what if we built her an AI tool that could help break it down, build station activities, and create depth-of-knowledge questions, all in one place?"

Lauren's instructional technology team built a custom tool around the teacher's curriculum, and the response was almost immediate. "By the second or third day, she was telling us, 'You have to keep going. You have to share this with all the grade levels,'" Lauren says.

Their enthusiasm sparked a larger effort. The team drew on district curriculum resources and instructional calendars to develop tools for different subjects and grade levels.

Today, New Braunfels ISD has created 68 custom MagicSchool tools supporting its reading curriculum and math and science programs. Teachers can use them to plan lessons, develop small-group activities, and create depth-of-knowledge questions that align with what they're teaching.

"It's aligned to what teachers are doing, and they're able to find the things they need to be successful quickly, without having to fish through everything," Carrie explains.

With familiar curriculum resources built into the tools, teachers have more time to focus on adapting instruction to the students in front of them.

Make rigorous, differentiated quizzes easier to create

MagicSchool Quizzes is helping New Braunfels ISD teachers create assessments that reflect what students are learning, with the flexibility to adjust questions for different needs.

"We have a limited resource bank of test questions for teachers to use," Lauren shares. "Teachers were struggling with what to do in between those big tests. They still needed questions that were rigorous and covered the content."

With Quizzes, teachers can quickly create assessments tailored to their lessons and customize questions for students who need accommodations or are ready for a greater challenge.

"If you have kids with accommodations or students who need extension activities, you can ask deeper questions and customize the quiz for those students instantly," Lauren says.

For teachers accustomed to piecing together assessments from different resources or adapting paper-based materials, the experience has been a welcome change.

"A lot of them were like, 'Oh, it's that simple? I don't have to do all those other things?'" Lauren beams. “When creating a quiz becomes that much easier, teachers have one less thing competing for their time.”

Grow adoption through collaboration and small wins

At New Braunfels ISD, bringing MagicSchool into more classrooms has been a team effort. Instructional technology staff work alongside curriculum specialists and campus leaders to help teachers discover how AI can support their work.

"It can't come just from the instructional technology department," Carrie explains. "It has to come from everybody, and we all have to work together. If we're the only ones spearheading it, it's not going to be as successful as if everybody is pointing in the same direction."

The district supports educators through campus trainings and monthly learning opportunities for curriculum specialists and principals. Lauren's team also highlights one practical MagicSchool use case in its monthly EdTech newsletter, helping teachers discover new ways to use the platform.

Lauren has found that seeing MagicSchool in action can make all the difference. During one professional development session, she showed high school educators how the platform could help with everyday tasks like writing letters of recommendation, winning over teachers who were initially hesitant.

"A lot of teachers need to see the outcome first, and then they're a little more willing to try it themselves," Lauren says. “That ‘wow!’ moment goes a long way.”

Looking ahead

More opportunities to support teachers and students

As teachers continue finding new ways to use MagicSchool, New Braunfels ISD is beginning to explore its Learning Outcomes Module, particularly for campuses focused on improving math performance.

"We're just dipping our toes into it now," Lauren says. "We want to give teachers another data point to help them understand what they need to tailor their instruction."

Lauren and her team are interested in how teachers could use those insights alongside the custom tools and instructional resources already available to them.

"Teachers can take what they're learning back into our custom tools or the tools already built into MagicSchool," Lauren explains. "They can use those insights to build even stronger lessons."

The district is also exploring asynchronous professional learning opportunities that would give teachers more flexibility to build their skills. For Carrie, these efforts reflect the district's commitment to using technology with intention.

"We're always looking for something that will benefit students so that when they're using technology, it's purposeful," she offers.

And for Lauren, some of the most meaningful changes are happening in the everyday moments teachers share with their students.

"I think for some teachers, it's bringing back that sense of joy in teaching," Lauren says. "We go into it for the kids, and this is giving them more time to learn their students' personalities and build meaningful relationships. The overall classroom experience is much richer."

Bring MagicSchool to your district