With budgets tight and expectations rising, district leaders need more than reports. Abre CEO James Stoffer breaks down how connected data is reshaping decision-making across K–12.
INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero
School districts are awash in data—but when leaders sit down to make decisions, clarity is often the one thing missing. Academic performance, attendance, behavior, social-emotional learning, interventions, and finances all live in separate systems, forcing educators to piece together insight instead of acting on it.
James Stoffer, CEO of Abre, has spent years working with districts to confront that reality head-on. As schools face tighter budgets, higher expectations, and growing demands for accountability, Abre’s work centers on a simple but urgent idea: districts don’t need more data—they need their data to work together.
In this interview, Stoffer reflects on Abre’s rapid growth, the strategic questions district leaders are trying to answer today, and why unifying data into a single, connected environment is quickly becoming essential for improving outcomes for students, educators, and families alike.
We chatted about Abre in an interview a few years ago. What’s new with the company?
We’ve undergone major growth since 2023. The company raised a $24M Series A in 2024 to expand its K–12 data platform, and in 2025 it launched a next-generation connected K–12 data platform designed to unify fragmented district systems and accelerate outcomes.. These moves position Abre as one of the fastest-growing data infrastructure companies in K–12 education.
Districts obtain so much data and many say their biggest challenge isn’t collecting the data — it’s understanding it. How can they move from simply collecting it to using it as a decision-making advantage?
Districts don’t have a data collection problem, they have a data connection problem. The challenge is that information lives in too many places and rarely tells a clear story. The shift happens when districts unify their data in one place, simplify it into insights that actually make sense, and build those insights directly into the daily workflows of teachers, principals, and families. When districts focus on a small set of meaningful indicators and create confidence around using data, it stops feeling like noise. Instead, it becomes a real decision-making advantage that helps leaders take action and improve student outcomes.
‘When districts focus on a small set of meaningful indicators and create confidence around using data, it stops feeling like noise.’
The heavy lift is bringing academic, behavioral, attendance, SEL, and intervention data into one environment and translating it into actionable insights. Schools don’t need more dashboards; they need clear signals around who needs support, what’s working, and what resources should be adjusted.
What are the most important strategic questions district leaders are trying to answer through accessible data today?
District leaders are trying to answer the same core questions: Are our students on track? Are our programs working? How do we improve engagement and attendance? How do we support teachers? And how do we build trust with families? The challenge is that the answers live across dozens of disconnected systems. When data is connected into a single, cohesive view, leaders can see the full picture, make confident decisions, and focus resources where they matter most.
When you connect all of these pieces between data, insights, workflows, and communication, leaders don’t have to guess. They can answer their most important strategic questions clearly and consistently, which is what schools need right now.
Principals are responsible for day-to-day school performance, but often lack timely data. What does it take to equip principals with real-time, actionable insights — and how does that change student and staff outcomes?
Principals make hundreds of decisions a day, but too often they’re working with outdated reports or information that’s hard to interpret. To really support them, schools need to provide real-time, easy-to-understand insights that fit into how principals actually work – not spreadsheets that arrive weeks later.
When principals can quickly see which students need support, which classrooms need attention, and what trends are emerging in attendance or behavior, they can act immediately instead of reacting after the fact.
‘When principals can quickly see which students need support, which classrooms need attention, and what trends are emerging in attendance or behavior, they can act immediately instead of reacting after the fact.’
The shift makes a huge difference. Students get support sooner, teachers feel like they have backup, and schools run more smoothly overall. Timely, actionable data doesn’t just make the job easier. It directly improves outcomes for everyone in the building.
When we talk about understanding the “whole child,” what types of signals matter most, and why can’t test scores alone tell that story?
Understanding the whole child goes far beyond academics. Test scores tell you how a student performed on a single measure, on a single day. But it doesn’t tell you whether that student feels engaged, supported, or ready to learn.
What really matters are signals like attendance, behavior, social-emotional well-being, engagement in class, participation in activities and intervention history. These factors together paint a much more accurate picture of a student’s experience and needs.
When districts connect these signals, they can see patterns that test scores alone will never reveal—early warning signs, barriers to learning, and opportunities to support the whole child. That’s why a connected data approach is so important. It helps educators understand not just how a student is doing, but why and what to do next.
District budgets are tightening. What role does a CFO play in a school district and how can unified data help them finally understand which investments improve outcomes?
Today’s district CFOs play a critical role in shaping student outcomes, especially as budgets tighten. They’re being asked to make tough decisions, but the challenge is that financial data and student outcome data usually live in separate systems. That makes it incredibly difficult to see what’s working.
When financial information can be viewed alongside academic, attendance, behavior, social-emotional, and intervention data, leaders finally get clarity. They can see which programs and products are delivering value, which tools overlap, and where resources should be redirected. That kind of visibility allows districts to invest with confidence and focus funding on strategies that truly support students.
In our last interview, you predicted there would be “a lot more focus from vendors around the concept of consolidation.” How do you define true consolidation? Has that prediction come true?
When I talked about consolidation, I wasn’t talking about fewer logins for the sake of convenience. True consolidation means having one connected environment where data, tools, and workflows all work together instead of operating in silos.
‘True consolidation means having one connected environment where data, tools, and workflows all work together instead of operating in silos.’
And that prediction has come true. Districts are now asking for fewer systems and more clarity. They want one place where teachers, principals, families, and partners can see the same information and take action without jumping between platforms.
That’s the future of K–12 platforms: simple, unified, and built around the whole student experience.
How do you see the data management in K-12 evolving over the next five to 10 years?
Over the next five to ten years, K–12 data management is going to become much more connected and much easier to use. Districts are exhausted by managing dozens of systems that don’t work with each other. The future is an approach where all student data—academics, attendance, behavior, SEL, interventions—lives in one place and updates in real time.
We’ll also see data become more predictive, helping schools spot issues early instead of reacting after the fact. Insights will be tailored by role, so teachers, principals, families, and district leaders receive exactly what they need without having to search for it.
This shift from collecting data to actually using it well is where K–12 is headed, and it has the potential to make a real difference for students and staff.
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Victor Rivero is the Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest and Executive Producer of Future Focus Forums (F3). Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com
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