Alma team members share how their past careers in education evolved into roles that positively impact students globally with Alma.
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Blake Weekes is channeling years of classroom expertise into creating EdTech solutions at Alma that are making educators’ lives easier and students’ learning experiences better.
Alma team members come from a variety of educational backgrounds, bringing real-world experience to help K–12 schools thrive. Blake Weekes is one of those team members, channeling years of classroom expertise into creating EdTech solutions at Alma that are making educators’ lives easier and students’ learning experiences better.
A foundation in teaching
Blake began his career as a Kindergarten and 1st-grade teacher, spending four years in Chicago Public Schools on the city’s West Side. After moving to Portland, he continued teaching 1st grade in Gresham. “I’ve always been the unofficial tech support person for my school,” Blake says. “I was constantly helping my fellow teachers learn how to use the systems that we had been charged with using in and outside our classrooms.”
Discovering Alma
Blake first came across Alma on an online job posting site. At the time, he was mostly applying to teaching positions but had begun exploring what a career in EdTech could offer. “Alma came up and I applied – the rest is history!”
Making the leap from classroom to EdTech
The transition wasn’t without its challenges. “A bit crazy. It was more a confidence thing than a capability or capacity thing. Honestly, I firmly believe that teachers are the most capable humans on the planet, and I had to work through a lot of imposter syndrome as I learned the ropes. But once I hit my stride, I realized that we don’t give our educators enough credit, and we are capable of so many things in any arena.”
Seeing the difference
Blake never used Alma as a classroom teacher, but he recognizes its impact on schools and student outcomes. “The SIS platforms I used in my various teaching positions were always horrible. They felt like working in a system that was already out of date when they were made. I was definitely wowed when I came to Alma and saw just how smooth and modern an SIS could feel.”
Driving change at Alma
In his current role, Blake connects educators’ needs to Alma’s development teams, ensuring the platform continues to evolve in ways that truly help K–12 schools optimize operations. “I love my current role. I get to talk with educators to find out their very specific needs for the spaces that they work in, and I get to translate those needs into technical language that our developers can make reality. The moments of people saying, ‘wow that will be so helpful’ or ‘that is exactly what I needed’ after releasing a feature that came from their feedback is what keeps me motivated.”
Lessons learned
Looking back, Blake emphasizes the power of teachers and the importance of effective school technology. “I have learned that teachers can do anything. Literally anything.”
Vision for the future
Blake sees Alma’s continued growth as tied to its ability to build innovative tools for educators. “I think if Alma continues its approach to developing very excellent tools for educators, it’s only growth on the horizon as we are enabled to take on larger and more complex problems in the education sector.”
Advice for educators
He encourages feedback and engagement. “Never stop sending that feedback! We love hearing it, and we always incorporate user voices when designing and building solutions. It’s essential to continuously be hearing from our users about our products so we can always continue improving and honing them.”
