Case Study: Abbotsford School District achieves large-scale, efficient community engagement with ThoughtExchange

Abbotsford School District - Customer Case Study

Abbotsford School District, a culturally and geographically diverse district in British Columbia serving about 18,500 students across 46 schools (55 languages spoken), needed to modernize learning and build community support for change. Superintendent Kevin Godden found traditional engagement—advisory committees, surveys and in‑person consultations—was costly, time‑consuming and often failed to capture representative, district‑wide input.

The District partnered with Thoughtexchange to run a large‑scale online engagement, which drew 2,652 participants who submitted 8,076 ideas and cast 78,912 star ratings. The platform delivered consistent, comparable school‑level data, saved hundreds of people‑hours and significant costs, increased transparency and deeper understanding of priorities, and produced actionable insights that aligned with and helped refine the District’s strategic plan; annual online engagements are planned going forward.

Abbotsford School District

Kevin Godden

Superintendent