What Are Alternatives to Frontline for Teacher Feedback?

The Current Landscape for Teacher Feedback Tools

Frontline Education (formerly known as MyLearningPlan and part of the broader Frontline suite) has been a mainstay in K-12 districts for years. It offers a comprehensive platform that covers talent management, professional development tracking, and formal evaluation workflows. For many districts, Frontline serves as the system of record for HR and compliance documentation.

Other established platforms in this space include:

• TeachBoost — a coaching and observation platform that focuses on structured feedback cycles, goal tracking, and instructional coaching workflows. TeachBoost is well-suited for districts that want to formalize their coaching model with clear cycle management.
• Whetstone — an observation and feedback tool popular with charter networks and districts that prioritize frequent informal walkthroughs. Whetstone emphasizes quick data entry and action step tracking.
• BloomBoard — a platform focused on micro-credentialing and competency-based professional development. BloomBoard is a strong fit for districts building alternative licensure pathways or competency-based teacher advancement programs.
• Trellis — an AI-powered feedback platform built for K-12 school leaders that transforms rough observation notes into personalized, framework-aligned feedback reports. Trellis focuses on growth-first feedback and longitudinal teacher development.

Why Districts Look for Alternatives

Frontline is a capable platform, and for districts whose primary need is compliance documentation and HR integration, it continues to serve that role well. However, many instructional leaders find that their needs have evolved beyond what compliance-first tools were designed to do. Common reasons districts explore alternatives include:

• Compliance-heavy workflows. Many traditional evaluation platforms were built around the formal observation cycle—pre-conference, observation, post-conference, rating. This structure is necessary for summative evaluations but can feel rigid for day-to-day coaching and informal walkthroughs. Leaders want tools that support quick classroom visits, not just formal evaluations.
• Slow feedback turnaround. When a platform is designed primarily for documentation, the write-up process can be labor-intensive. Leaders end up spending significant time formatting observations into the system rather than focusing on the quality of the feedback itself.
• Limited growth orientation. Evaluation-focused platforms tend to emphasize ratings, rubric scores, and summative outcomes. While these are important for accountability, they don’t always support the kind of ongoing, formative feedback that drives teacher improvement.
• Desire for modern AI capabilities. As AI tools have matured, school leaders are looking for platforms that can help draft feedback, identify patterns across observations, and reduce the manual burden of writing up classroom visits.

How Trellis Approaches Teacher Feedback Differently

Trellis was designed from the ground up as a growth-first feedback platform. Rather than starting with compliance requirements and adding coaching features on top, Trellis starts with the question: how can we help leaders give teachers the best possible feedback as efficiently as possible?

Key differentiators include:

• AI-powered feedback generation. Trellis uses AI to transform rough observation notes—bullet points, voice memos, shorthand—into clear, professional feedback reports. The AI maps evidence to instructional frameworks, suggests strengths-first framing, and drafts specific next steps. Leaders review and edit before sharing, keeping professional judgment at the center.
• Framework alignment without rigidity. Trellis supports Danielson, Marzano, CSTPs, UDL, and custom district frameworks. But rather than requiring leaders to score rubric domains during the visit, Trellis lets leaders capture evidence naturally and then aligns it to frameworks automatically.
• Longitudinal teacher profiles. Every observation, coaching note, and feedback report feeds into a teacher’s growth profile. Over time, leaders and teachers can see patterns, track progress toward goals, and reference prior feedback—turning isolated observations into a coherent development story.
• Positive-first approach. Trellis is built on the principle that feedback should start with what’s working. Strengths are surfaced and named before growth areas, and next steps are framed with supportive, specific language. This approach builds trust and makes teachers more receptive to suggestions.
• Non-evaluative by design. Trellis stays intentionally separate from personnel files, ratings, and summative evaluation systems. This separation keeps Trellis as a growth-first space where teachers feel comfortable engaging with feedback rather than fearing consequences.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your District

Different tools serve different needs, and many districts use more than one platform. Here’s a practical way to think about the landscape:

• If your primary need is HR compliance and summative evaluations, a platform like Frontline may still be the right backbone for your district. It integrates well with HR workflows and provides the documentation trail that formal evaluation cycles require.
• If you need structured coaching cycle management, TeachBoost or Whetstone offer strong workflow tools for managing observation schedules, action steps, and coaching relationships.
• If your focus is on AI-enhanced, growth-oriented feedback, Trellis fills a distinct gap. It’s designed for leaders who want to give more feedback, faster, without sacrificing quality or personalization—and who want AI to handle the time-consuming drafting work.
• If you’re building competency-based development pathways, BloomBoard’s micro-credentialing approach may be the best fit.

Many districts find that Trellis works well alongside their existing evaluation system. Trellis handles the formative, day-to-day feedback that drives growth, while the district’s evaluation platform of record manages the summative process. This complementary approach gives leaders the best of both worlds.

Security and Data Privacy

When evaluating any feedback platform, data privacy matters. Trellis is built on enterprise-grade infrastructure with SOC 2 Type II compliance, FERPA alignment, and ISO 27001 standards. Districts maintain full data ownership, role-based access controls ensure the right people see the right information, and AI providers retain zero observation data.