Dot It is a product of Smart Learning Systems. Founded by educators in North Carolina in 2018, we believe that every student deserves access to a grade level education. Our company is committed to keeping our promises, providing exceptional products and services for educators at every level, and actively engaging with our clients to meet their goals.
Optimized, standards-first teams for excellent schools
Provide educators with software and support that optimizes their time so their schools connect to the standards every day.
Software and professional development that makes it easy for teams at every level to make the right decisions for every student on every step towards graduation.
As leaders, we achieved significant progress in student success. However, the toll it took on us was immense. The time and effort required to improve our scores proved to be unsustainable. The tasks we needed to create, implement processes, and build data sets were added on top of our daily obligations to support school administrators, coaches, and teachers. It felt hopeless.
Then, an idea struck us. What if the exceptional programmers in Laurie’s family could develop the tools we needed? This is how DOT IT was created. Initially designed for special educators, we confronted the challenge of limited access for our students with disabilities, only to realize that this issue extended beyond our students; EVERYONE was struggling to keep up with grade level.
At that moment, we considered giving up. But then we thought, “If we don’t step in to help, who will?” So, we built the platform we recognized as essential. Our goal became clear: to assist anyone who genuinely believed that their schools could and should improve.
Our mission is straightforward. Based on our experiences, we understand that when teams prioritize standards and center their efforts around them, their schools improve rapidly. Therefore, we create products and provide services designed to facilitate this process.
Looking ahead, we see the growing need for our work. We aim to positively influence as many dedicated educators as possible. Our ultimate vision is to foster joyful schools where everyone is engaged at grade level every single day.
A harmonious blend of tradition and innovation, the Dot It platform intuitively meets the dynamic needs of modern education. Dot It offers a sturdy structure, robustly promoting state standards while allowing the freedom for individual teaching choices. This versatility ensures each lesson resonates with students, honoring their diverse ways of learning. By fostering a community of practice, Dot It is where educators collaborate, share insights, and support one another in their professional journeys. Rich with a wealth of resources right at your fingertips, Dot It is an abundantly productive ecosystem for administrators, coaches and teachers to cultivate coherence, nurture consistency, and grow capability so that students bloom academically and personally.
Dot It was founded and crafted by:
Susan Milliones has consulted with districts and trained thousands of teachers across the United States in MTSS and special education. She has presented at National Conferences including National Title 1 and has worked on federal grants for MTSS implementation. She is a graduate of the Learning Forward Academy for professional learning. She has worked with leaders in hundreds of schools to close achievement gaps, ensure authentic compliance, and improve the quality of educational experiences for students on the margins. Susan is a co-founder and systems developer for Dot It software tools.
Laurie McDanel has an Ed.S in School Administration and a Master's in Special Education from Western Carolina University. She received her B.S. from the University of Tennessee. She has 20 years of special education classroom experience and 10 years of leadership experience at the school and district levels. Her innovative leadership as a Special Education Director led to the significant closure of achievement gaps for students with disabilities in her district. Laurie is the co-founder and application designer of Dot It.
Having grown up around educators, Britt holds tremendous respect for the work that you do, taking special note of the flexibility and empathy that your jobs require. After graduating from Wake Forest University, he channeled that respect into the creation of the suite of Dot It Software. Britt is responsible for the development, enhancement, and security of Dot It, ensuring that our software suite is quicker, clearer, and better than any other tool on the market. Britt is happy to field any questions on optimizing your school's usage of Dot It Software.
Bradley, who holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University and M.S. and B.S. degrees from Wake Forest University, brings his passion for teaching and practical learning to Dot It. As a professor at Franklin & Marshall College, Brad is known for his hands-on approach and dedication to making deep learning concepts accessible to students. In his spare time, Brad enjoys online chess. At Dot It, Brad combines his expertise and understanding of student needs to contribute to a platform that supports educators and learners in an effective and user-friendly way.
James acquired a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Centre College, who then went on to work at a Fortune 500 company. He is our collaborative, energetic customer success advocate and in-house creative. His expertise in software engineering and experience design manifests in our intuitive, self-guided software that has a human touch. James will be happy to demonstrate the full power of Dot It professional development and software to find a package that's right for your teams.
Pacing guides, resources, assessments, and professional development coherently align to the standards as soon as you start using our cutting edge software and learning from our expertly crafted professional development.
Pinpoint exactly which schools, teachers, and students need additional support to more efficiently and effectively provide resources.
Simplify the workflow for planning, teaching, and remediating so teachers have time for their students, professional development, and other requirements.
Fully digitize your school implementation to lay the foundation for transformational work. Instead of running blind, leverage decision-making data to provide support for your staff in succeeding in the standards.
Simply standards first.