Key Takeaways

Malden Public Schools transformed their professional development days by shifting from outsourced, generic training to fully in-house, customized events. With Sched, the district gained complete control over planning, delivery, and feedback, all while improving satisfaction and saving money.

Before Sched:

  • Outsourced, generic PD with no control.

  • High costs and poor engagement.

  • No way to personalize or iterate.

After Sched:

  • 85% of attendees rated Sched easy to use.
  • Full control over schedule, feedback, and content.
  • Lower costs by moving away from third-party providers.
  • Improved communication and personalized attendee experience.

📍About Malden Public Schools

  • Location: North of Boston, Massachusetts.

  • Schools: 7 total, including 5 K–8 campuses, an early learning center, and Malden High School.

  • Educators: 800+

  • Students Served: 6,700

  • PD Leader: Emilys Peña, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.

We spoke with Emilys Peña – Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. She is responsible for professional development. 

Emilys led a districtwide effort to overhaul how professional development was delivered, prioritizing relevance, cost-efficiency, and educator empowerment.

The Challenge Malden Public Schools Faced: Generic PD That Didn’t Fit Anyone

Before Sched, Malden Public Schools relied on external providers to run their PD days. While convenient, the training content was too broad to meet the diverse needs of their educators across seven schools. Teachers were left sitting through sessions that didn’t apply to their grade level, subject area, or instructional style.

“Even if 100 teachers tell you they want PD in this one thing and you offer it, 50 of those teachers will tell you, this isn’t what I wanted.”
— Emilys Peña, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

The district had no real control over planning. Emilys and her team couldn’t customize the experience to address the evolving needs of their 800 staff members. Year after year, PD felt misaligned and ineffective.

To make matters worse, these events came with a steep price tag. Malden was paying significant fees to be part of a multi-district partnership—and yet felt like they were getting less value, not more.

“It was a constantly moving target—trying to figure out the learning needs of so many different staff members.”

The cost wasn’t just monetary. Teachers were disengaged. Planners were frustrated. And every cycle felt like a missed opportunity to drive real growth in the classroom.

The Tipping Point: Too Many Limitations, Not Enough Control

By the 2021–22 school year, Emilys and her team had hit a wall. They were paying high fees to be part of a five-district PD partnership, but the sessions weren’t relevant to their staff. The content didn’t reflect their specific needs, and every educator was expected to benefit from the same generic schedule.

“I had zero to do with planning. They did everything.”

Without input into the session topics or speaker selection, Malden’s leaders couldn’t ensure the training matched their curriculum or instructional goals. The events looked polished on paper, but lacked meaningful impact.

Even after bringing PD days in-house, early efforts were shaky. One virtual event featured a keynote led by a parent volunteer on Zoom. There was no tracking, no feedback system, and no clear outcome.

“We gave teachers free time to plan and collaborate, but it wasn’t proper training. It didn’t feel intentional.”

It became clear: to improve professional development, they needed not just control, but a system that made high-quality execution possible.

The Turning Point: Finding Sched at Another Event

The breakthrough came when Emilys attended another district’s event that used Sched.

What stood out wasn’t just the platform’s feature set, it was how seamless the experience felt for attendees. She could browse sessions, build a personal schedule, and get updates instantly from her phone. It was intuitive, smooth, and didn’t require tech support.

Sched’s platform aligned with exactly what she had been searching for:

  • Designed for non-technical users.

  • Intuitive for both organizers and attendees.

  • Mobile-friendly with custom branding.

  • Built-in registration, scheduling, and feedback tools.

  • Transparent pricing and generous educator discounts.

“I found it very easy to use. If I like it, chances are our attendees will too.”

After years of fragmented solutions and frustration, Emilys saw Sched not just as a tool, but as a partner in delivering PD that finally worked for everyone involved.

 

Why Sched Made Sense for Malden Public Schools

Sched wasn’t just easier to use than what came before, it changed the entire approach to professional development at Malden.

Instead of piecing together Google Forms, Zoom links, and email chains, Emilys could now manage every aspect of the event, from speaker proposals to attendance analytics—in one seamless platform. And she could do it all without needing IT support or a large planning team.

Sched gave Malden what they were missing:

  • Full autonomy to build schedules, assign rooms, and set session caps.

  • Live visibility into registration trends and attendee flow.

  • Streamlined communication with push notifications that replaced reminder emails.

  • Session-level feedback that helped improve every future PD day.

  • Mobile-first access so educators could participate without laptops

But it wasn’t just the feature set that mattered.

Sched understood the K–12 world. Their team offered education pricing, onboarding that worked with the school year, and support that made Emilys feel heard, not sold to.

“You guys were super patient with me. We felt heard and supported.”

That combination, a platform that fits how educators work, and a team that listens, is what made Sched the right fit for Malden.

The Results: 85% Satisfaction, Full Control, Lower Costs

The first event using Sched marked a turning point.

Out of 670 attendees, 601 completed a post-event survey, and the results were striking:

  • 85% rated Sched as easy or very easy to use.

  • Educators built and adjusted personal schedules from their phones.

  • Staff praised the layout, color-coded tracks, and real-time updates.

Sched helped Malden finally achieve the trifecta they’d been chasing: efficiency, engagement, and clarity.

Event organizers saved hours by eliminating spreadsheets and paper sign-ins. They received rich, structured feedback to improve the next PD day without chasing survey responses by email.

“Sched just brings it up a notch. It makes it fancy, it makes it fun, it makes it feel less like professional development.”

Most importantly, the district could confidently say their PD was tailored to their educators—not just this year, but every year moving forward.

Sched also brought a new level of polish:

“Sched just brings it up a notch. It makes it fancy, it makes it fun, it makes it feel less like professional development.”

What Malden Public Schools Loved Most About Sched

– Easy Scheduling for 800+ Staff

Build and share detailed PD schedules without spreadsheets or manual RSVPs.

– Mobile-First Attendee Experience

Educators could plan and participate without needing a laptop.

– Real-Time Insights

Collect feedback by session, see what worked, and use that data for continuous improvement.

– Better Communication

Push notifications ensured all changes and updates reached attendees instantly.

– Flexible Pricing

Sched’s educator discounts and scalable pricing made budgeting easier than outsourcing.

Sched is An Event Management Platform That Empowers K-12 Educators and Saves Time

Sched didn’t just replace an old system. It empowered Malden Public Schools to plan professional development events that were customized, cost-effective, and engaging.

“It has done everything that we wanted. It has helped us 100% meet our goals.”

If you’re looking to simplify your PD planning, engage educators, and save time and money, Sched was built with K–12 leaders like you in mind.

Start your free trial to see how Sched can power your next professional development event.