ELLEVATION EDUCATION, Summer 2022 - Summer 2025
From Concept to Launch: Designing Ellevation Family Forms
Over three years, I was the lead designer on a small team that ideated and launched Ellevation’s first Family-facing product. I defined and developed the experience from early discovery through pilot and launch, collaborating cross-functionally to build leadership alignment and deliver a new revenue-generating product for districts.
From Concept to Launch: Designing Ellevation Family Forms
Over three years, I was the lead designer on a small team that ideated and launched Ellevation’s first Family-facing product. I defined and developed the experience from early discovery through pilot and launch, collaborating cross-functionally to build leadership alignment and deliver a new revenue-generating product for districts.
Expanding Ellevation to Families
In 2022, I began discovery on a new Ellevation user type: Families of EL students. Texas and California were key markets for the company’s growth and both had expressed a need for streamlined parent signatures on documents required by state compliance law. As the product designer on the User Management team at the time, this naturally fell into my realm.
One of the team’s early hypotheses was that by deepening the way families of MLs engage with Ellevation, we would improve our ability to drive impact for students and open up growth opportunities in support of Ellevation’s internal goals.
I was responsible for defining the end-to-end experience and helping the team navigate ambiguity, risks, and tradeoffs through launch.
Expanding Ellevation to Families
In 2022, I began discovery on a new Ellevation user type: Families of EL students. Texas and California were key markets for the company’s growth and both had expressed a need for streamlined parent signatures on documents required by state compliance law. As the product designer on the User Management team at the time, this naturally fell into my realm.
One of the team’s early hypotheses was that by deepening the way families of MLs engage with Ellevation, we would improve our ability to drive impact for students and open up growth opportunities in support of Ellevation’s internal goals.
I was responsible for defining the end-to-end experience and helping the team navigate ambiguity, risks, and tradeoffs through launch.
English learner (EL): A student learning English as a second/additional language alongside their native language(s). Adjacent terms: ELLs, MLs, or EBs.
Navigating an Untapped and Complex User Space
Early on in this endeavor, I set out to understand the depth of the family engagement space as it was a vast and ambiguous field. With the support of the product manager on my team and under the guidance of the Head of Product, I led research sessions with district admins alongside competitive research into comparable products districts might already be using. Our goal was to build towards a long-term approach to discovery on impactful ML family engagement. Some of those early learning objectives included:
Identify and prioritize use cases
Uncover existing “jobs to be done” that could be streamlined through Ellevation
Research and record competition and alternate solutions
Determine options for family authentication and access
Understand whether Ellevation’s print-only parent letters product could fit into a modern product
Navigating an Untapped and Complex User Space
Early on in this endeavor, I set out to understand the depth of the family engagement space as it was a vast and ambiguous field. With the support of the product manager on my team and under the guidance of the Head of Product, I led research sessions with district admins alongside competitive research into comparable products districts might already be using. Our goal was to build towards a long-term approach to discovery on impactful ML family engagement. Some of those early learning objectives included:
Identify and prioritize use cases
Uncover existing “jobs to be done” that could be streamlined through Ellevation
Research and record competition and alternate solutions
Determine options for family authentication and access
Understand whether Ellevation’s print-only parent letters product could fit into a modern product
I mapped out possible workflows for parent authentication
I mapped out possible workflows for parent authentication
An early wireframe used in discovery calls
An early wireframe used in discovery calls
While the first few months of discovery proved value in this space, there were clear challenges that would require further effort to unpack and synthesize. Most notably, I found numerous cultural, socioeconomic, and logistical barriers that are unique to families of ELL students. Examples include:
Inconsistent access to computers and sometimes internet
Ever-changing phone numbers and addresses
Cultural norms/Hesitation with interfering with teachers’ recommendations
Thus, the Family Communications team was born. The Product Manager and I broke off onto a newly forming team of two to put our full efforts into defining this new product.
While the first few months of discovery proved value in this space, there were clear challenges that would require further effort to unpack and synthesize. Most notably, I found numerous cultural, socioeconomic, and logistical barriers that are unique to families of ELL students. Examples include:
Inconsistent access to computers and sometimes internet
Ever-changing phone numbers and addresses
Cultural norms/Hesitation with interfering with teachers’ recommendations
Thus, the Family Communications team was born. The Product Manager and I broke off onto a newly forming team of two to put our full efforts into defining this new product.
Setting the Product Direction
On our new team, our overarching mission was to enable administrators to digitally share state-mandated EL letters with families. In turn, Families would access and read these letters directly on the platform and provide input and signatures when necessary.
In the earlier phase, I had used Figma prototypes to understand the problem in 16 internal interviews across Success and Sales, and 10 external interviews across 7 customer regions. I made refinements to the design prototype based on recurring learnings and built high confidence in the need for a solution in this problem space and our potential solution to address it.
That being said, we found an overall medium to low willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the product as presented.
Setting the Product Direction
On our new team, our overarching mission was to enable administrators to digitally share state-mandated EL letters with families. In turn, Families would access and read these letters directly on the platform and provide input and signatures when necessary.
In the earlier phase, I had used Figma prototypes to understand the problem in 16 internal interviews across Success and Sales, and 10 external interviews across 7 customer regions. I made refinements to the design prototype based on recurring learnings and built high confidence in the need for a solution in this problem space and our potential solution to address it.
That being said, we found an overall medium to low willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the product as presented.
Lo-fi interactive prototype for usability testing followed by a WTP activity
Lo-fi interactive prototype for usability testing followed by a WTP activity
My responsibility, along with the PM, was to explore and define a product experience that solved a real compliance need for districts while delivering enough value to justify adoption from the districts’ end, despite early signals of low WTP.
My responsibility, along with the PM, was to explore and define a product experience that solved a real compliance need for districts while delivering enough value to justify adoption from the districts’ end, despite early signals of low WTP.
From Discovery to Direction
Reframing the MVP Around Assumptions
In an effort to define an MVP that proved enough value to customers, the PM and I embarked on the longest phase of discovery in the process thus far. Now that we understood the general workflow required between educators and families, we needed to identify and test assumptions that would need to be true to successfully carry users through the process.
From Discovery to Direction
Reframing the MVP Around Assumptions
In an effort to define an MVP that proved enough value to customers, the PM and I embarked on the longest phase of discovery in the process thus far. Now that we understood the general workflow required between educators and families, we needed to identify and test assumptions that would need to be true to successfully carry users through the process.
Exploring Integration
Concurrently, I mapped out possible overlapping use cases with the Ellevations Form product to dissect a possibility of integrating into Ellevation’s existing technologies. This map was later essential in onboarding new stakeholders to this project.
Exploring Integration
Concurrently, I mapped out possible overlapping use cases with the Ellevations Form product to dissect a possibility of integrating into Ellevation’s existing technologies. This map was later essential in onboarding new stakeholders to this project.
One Forms workflow of many overlapping workflows taking place in districts
One Forms workflow of many overlapping workflows taking place in districts
Using interactive Figma prototypes, I led dozens of discovery sessions with customers to gather insights on a possible integration into the Ellevation Forms product. The goal of these interviews was to understand whether parent letters, which we were now informally calling Family Forms, could plug into the various Forms paradigms.
Inspired by Teresa Torres’ Continuous Discovery Habits, I led frequent and iterative sessions with both internal and external stakeholders.
Based on discovery insights, we identified assumptions in the following 5 Forms categories:
Template Configuration
Contact Paradigm
Cycle Completion
Family Experience
Cycle Results
Using interactive Figma prototypes, I led dozens of discovery sessions with customers to gather insights on a possible integration into the Ellevation Forms product. The goal of these interviews was to understand whether parent letters, which we were now informally calling Family Forms, could plug into the various Forms paradigms.
Inspired by Teresa Torres’ Continuous Discovery Habits, I led frequent and iterative sessions with both internal and external stakeholders.
Based on discovery insights, we identified assumptions in the following 5 Forms categories:
Template Configuration
Contact Paradigm
Cycle Completion
Family Experience
Cycle Results
Using an SVP to De-Risk Technical & Business Concerns
As my research progressed, an engineer joined our team to produce a proof of concept we called the SVP (Shoddiest Viable Product), which I was able to leverage in discovery calls.
I prioritized testing our usability and workflow assumptions by generating real Form Cycles on the SVP with admins from various regions. We walked through how they would realistically implement and work through each Cycle and what other measures might take place. I repeatedly found that Forms was a promising avenue to launching a Family product, both for the benefit of user familiarity and an established technical backing.
We chose to integrate with Forms rather than build a standalone product because it would cause the least user friction, as admins were already running other established workflows through this technology. Leveraging Forms also reduced our technical risk and lift, and gave us the space to experiment with otherwise lofty milestones.
Using an SVP to De-Risk Technical & Business Concerns
As my research progressed, an engineer joined our team to produce a proof of concept we called the SVP (Shoddiest Viable Product), which I was able to leverage in discovery calls.
I prioritized testing our usability and workflow assumptions by generating real Form Cycles on the SVP with admins from various regions. We walked through how they would realistically implement and work through each Cycle and what other measures might take place. I repeatedly found that Forms was a promising avenue to launching a Family product, both for the benefit of user familiarity and an established technical backing.
We chose to integrate with Forms rather than build a standalone product because it would cause the least user friction, as admins were already running other established workflows through this technology. Leveraging Forms also reduced our technical risk and lift, and gave us the space to experiment with otherwise lofty milestones.
An open Ellevation Forms cycle at the time
An open Ellevation Forms cycle at the time
Building Internal and External Confidence
As our team grew, I worked with the PM and an Instructional Content Manager to understand compliance requirements across states and districts. The SVP stage was critical to building buy-in with R&D leadership for a pilot launch in early 2025. I ran “dogfood” testing with internal users and tested with real EL families through scrappy Figma prototypes of the Family end of the experience.
As pilot districts were pitched to and over $100k was contracted, the sales team shared positive feedback from admins.
Building Internal and External Confidence
As our team grew, I worked with the PM and an Instructional Content Manager to understand compliance requirements across states and districts. The SVP stage was critical to building buy-in with R&D leadership for a pilot launch in early 2025. I ran “dogfood” testing with internal users and tested with real EL families through scrappy Figma prototypes of the Family end of the experience.
As pilot districts were pitched to and over $100k was contracted, the sales team shared positive feedback from admins.
"This is hours and days of work… now it’s a few clicks of a button. That’s really powerful."
– District admin from the Northwest region
"This is hours and days of work… now it’s a few clicks of a button. That’s really powerful."
– District admin from the Northwest region
Idea to Impact
Within the next few months, Family Communications received a green light from senior leadership for general availability and Ellevation began selling to all districts. In its first three months, the product unlocked hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue with a 50% close rate on demos, validating both the problem space and the integrated Forms approach. Ten months after the initial pilot, the product has generated $800k+ in revenue, nearly doubling sales goals.
Beyond revenue, the launch of Family Communications meaningfully changed how districts view required parent communication. One district reported saving 46 days of staff time per year (~$25,000 annually) by automating the creation and delivery of Family Forms. Administrators consistently cited the value of replacing manual, paper-based workflows with a streamlined digital experience, feedback echoed by our partner-facing teams who support these processes.
Idea to Impact
Within the next few months, Family Communications received a green light from senior leadership for general availability and Ellevation began selling to all districts. In its first three months, the product unlocked hundreds of thousands of dollars in new revenue with a 50% close rate on demos, validating both the problem space and the integrated Forms approach. Ten months after the initial pilot, the product has generated $800k+ in revenue, nearly doubling sales goals.
Beyond revenue, the launch of Family Communications meaningfully changed how districts view required parent communication. One district reported saving 46 days of staff time per year (~$25,000 annually) by automating the creation and delivery of Family Forms. Administrators consistently cited the value of replacing manual, paper-based workflows with a streamlined digital experience, feedback echoed by our partner-facing teams who support these processes.
Shipped Family experience
Shipped Family experience
Family Communications also set a new precedent for Ellevation’s product ecosystem. It was the first experience involving family members directly, expanding the platform beyond staff-only workflows. As of January 2026, over 60,000 emails have been sent to families, with a 75% family login rate. With the product now in the hands of real users, our team can begin exploring SMS notifications and other family-first engagement patterns.
As the only team member who worked on this initiative from its earliest discovery through launch, this milestone reinforced for me that meaningful products, especially for complex and underserved users, are built through clear learning goals, consistent iteration, and strong cross-functional partnership.
Family Communications also set a new precedent for Ellevation’s product ecosystem. It was the first experience involving family members directly, expanding the platform beyond staff-only workflows. As of January 2026, over 60,000 emails have been sent to families, with a 75% family login rate. With the product now in the hands of real users, our team can begin exploring SMS notifications and other family-first engagement patterns.
As the only team member who worked on this initiative from its earliest discovery through launch, this milestone reinforced for me that meaningful products, especially for complex and underserved users, are built through clear learning goals, consistent iteration, and strong cross-functional partnership.