Coursemojo is an education technology company that builds Mojo, an AI-powered teaching assistant designed to support English Language Arts instruction in middle and high schools. Founded by Dacia Toll and Eric Westendorf through the merger of two earlier companies, Coursello and Stepmojo, Coursemojo works with school districts to give students personalized, one-on-one academic support while giving teachers real-time data on student progress. The company also helps districts manage staffing shortages by offering hybrid course options for electives and core subjects. This article explains what Coursemojo does, how Mojo functions in the classroom, and what current evidence shows about its effect on student learning.
What Is Coursemojo?
Coursemojo is a K-12 ed-tech company that develops Mojo, a curriculum-aligned AI assistant built specifically for English Language Arts classrooms. Rather than replacing the teacher, Mojo works alongside the district’s existing curriculum, turning assigned texts and writing tasks into interactive, differentiated activities for each student.
The company also runs a separate hybrid course program, a legacy of its Coursello and Stepmojo origins. Through this arm, Coursemojo helps districts expand access to electives and core classes, including newer offerings such as an “Intro to Law: Doing Justice” course, by pairing remote instructors with in-building support staff.
How Does Mojo Work in the Classroom?
Mojo works by adapting a school’s approved instructional materials into one-on-one and small-group support sessions. It asks students Socratic-style questions about assigned readings, checks understanding, gives targeted feedback, and adjusts the next question based on the student’s response, all while staying aligned to the original curriculum.
This support is available in more than 50 languages, which allows multilingual learners to engage with grade-level texts alongside their peers. As students work, Mojo generates real-time data for teachers, so instructors can see which students are struggling with a specific skill and intervene during class rather than after a test.
What Results Has Coursemojo Shown in Schools?
Two independent quasi-experimental studies conducted during the 2024–25 school year found measurable gains for students using Coursemojo. In a Tennessee district, 2,045 sixth-grade students across twelve schools who used the tool scored eight points higher on the state’s TCAP exam, with students showing disabilities narrowing their achievement gap with general education peers from 16 points to 5 points.
Economically disadvantaged students in the same study cut their achievement gap by more than half, and researchers found that outcomes were stronger among students who used Mojo at least 2.5 days per week. A second study in a large Texas district, covering more than 3,000 sixth-grade students across twelve middle schools, found significantly higher scores on the STAAR reading assessment among Coursemojo users compared with peers who did not use the platform.
Who Uses Coursemojo?
Coursemojo is used by public school districts and charter networks, with rosters and account provisioning typically handled through Clever Secure Sync for easy classroom setup. According to the Heckscher Foundation, an early funder of the platform, Mojo has been piloted across 16 districts and charter networks in more than 10 states as part of its national rollout.
The platform is built to support a wide range of learners in the same classroom, including multilingual learners, students with IEPs, advanced readers, and students who are behind grade level in reading or writing. Teachers assign the same core text to the whole class, and Mojo adjusts the level of scaffolding for each individual student automatically.
How Does Coursemojo Address Teacher Staffing Shortages?
Beyond its AI tutoring product, Coursemojo operates a hybrid staffing model that lets districts offer courses even when they cannot fill every teaching position locally. Certified instructors teach remotely while a paraprofessional or facilitator supports students in the physical classroom, allowing schools to keep or add course sections without a full-time, in-building teacher for every subject.
This model is aimed at districts trying to expand elective offerings, such as specialized electives, without the budget or applicant pool needed for a traditional hire. Coursemojo positions this as a way to keep instruction consistent across a district while giving students access to a broader course catalog.
Conclusion
Coursemojo gives school districts two related tools: Mojo, an AI teaching assistant that personalizes ELA instruction inside an existing curriculum, and a hybrid staffing model that helps schools keep course offerings open despite teacher shortages. Early research from Tennessee and Texas points to real gains in reading achievement, particularly for students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. Districts considering the platform can review Coursemojo’s official site and the independent study summaries on Evidence for ESSA for more detail before deciding if it fits their instructional goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grade levels does Coursemojo support?
Coursemojo’s published research to date focuses on sixth-grade students in Tennessee and Texas middle schools, and the company describes Mojo as built for middle and high school learners. Districts use it primarily within ELA classes, though its hybrid course model can extend to other grade levels and subjects depending on a district’s needs.
Is Coursemojo only for English Language Arts?
Mojo, the AI assistant, is purpose-built for ELA instruction, including reading comprehension and writing support. Coursemojo’s separate hybrid course division, however, offers a wider range of subjects and electives, so the company’s overall reach goes beyond ELA alone.
Who founded Coursemojo?
Coursemojo was founded by Dacia Toll, who also co-founded the Achievement First charter network, and Eric Westendorf. The company formed through the merger of two earlier education technology businesses, Coursello and Stepmojo.
Does research support Coursemojo’s effectiveness?
Yes. Two separate 2024–25 school year studies, one in Tennessee and one in Texas, found that students using Coursemojo outperformed peers on state reading assessments, including the TCAP and STAAR exams, with the largest gains among students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students.
How do schools set up Coursemojo for students?
Most districts provision student and teacher accounts through Clever Secure Sync, which rosters classes automatically from existing student information systems. This setup lets teachers assign Mojo activities tied to the curriculum already approved by the district, without a separate manual enrollment process.
