Atlas

Atlas is a school curriculum platform that brings planning, standards alignment, assessment, and reporting into a shared online workspace. It is most relevant to school leaders and teachers coordinating curriculum across levels and courses. Its planning tools are broad, but the custom-priced core license and separately priced services call for careful budgeting.

Overview

Atlas serves public, independent, and international schools, with tools for coordinators, teachers, students, and parents. Schools can shape unit-planner templates around their own requirements and examples; teachers can then build standards-aligned lesson plans, add resources, and send plans to Google Classroom. Approval workflows and version history support review and continuity, particularly for schools with established curriculum approval processes.

The platform began in 1999 as a system created for an independent school in Portland, Oregon. Rubicon joined Faria Education Group in 2018.

Key features

• Custom planning: Schools can tailor unit templates rather than adopt a fixed planning format, and include guidance to help staff write consistently. Teachers can connect lessons to unit standards and attach resources, making the platform useful for coordinated planning across curriculum levels.
• Curriculum reporting: AI-powered reports surface alignment gaps, coverage patterns, and opportunities to improve coherence. These tools can help curriculum leaders see where planned coverage needs attention, though they are aimed at school-level curriculum work rather than individual lesson delivery alone.
• Standards library: Schools can choose from almost 3 million standards, request additions, or create and customize their own. That breadth gives schools options across varied curricula, while the ability to add standards helps when existing entries do not fit.
• Connections and governance: Sign-in options include Google, Office 365, Clever, and school ADFS. Integrations include ManageBac, Google Classroom, LTI platforms such as Canvas and Schoology, and ClassLink. Approval workflows and version history add structure to collaborative work; PDF exports provide a way to take curriculum materials out of the platform.
• Security and privacy: Faria says its learning platform is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified and encrypts data in transit and at rest. It also says it is GDPR-compliant and hosts data in locations including Canada, China, and the EU. Schools should weigh those protections alongside their own requirements for data hosting and governance.

Pricing

Atlas’s main platform uses custom pricing, and a free trial is offered without a stated duration. Schools should ask sales about the license cost and trial terms before comparing budgets. Standard support is included with every license, but premium support and implementation services add separate charges.

Plan or service	Price	What it includes
Standards	free	Atlas standards library; schools can add or customize standards.
Public Atlas Site	$500 a year (billed Annual Fee)	A customized public page for sharing selected curriculum.
Premium Support	$650 a year (billed Annually)	Priority email response, custom resources and videos, annual user and course support, unit-template modifications, and virtual technical training.

The free Standards plan covers the standards library, not the full planning and reporting platform. The Public Atlas Site suits schools that want to publish selected curriculum, rather than use it as a substitute for the core license. Premium Support is optional; schools can use the included standard support instead, but do not receive its priority response and additional services.

Other service costs can add up: project work is $80 per hour with a $320 minimum, virtual training is $200 per training, and onsite training is $2,000 per day plus travel costs. Schools expecting setup or staff training should include these charges in their total cost estimate.

Platforms

Atlas is web-based. Its integration options connect it with common school identity and learning systems, including Google Classroom and LTI platforms such as Canvas and Schoology. It also offers PDF curriculum exports.

Who it's for

Atlas is a strong fit for schools that need shared unit and lesson planning, standards alignment, and reports on coverage across curriculum levels. Its configurable templates and broad standards library suit teams coordinating curriculum across departments or programs. A school seeking only a low-cost individual planning tool may find the custom-priced core license and additional service fees hard to justify.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Custom unit templates and standards options let schools align planning to their own requirements instead of working within a single fixed structure.
• Pro: AI-powered reports identify alignment gaps and coverage patterns, supporting curriculum review beyond the creation of plans.
• Pro: Google Classroom sharing, multiple sign-in choices, and LMS integrations connect planning with school systems.
• Pro: Standard support is included with every license, and the Standards plan is free for schools that need the library alone.
• Con: The core platform has custom pricing, so schools cannot assess its license cost from a published rate.
• Con: Premium support, project work, and training carry separate charges; schools needing substantial assistance should budget beyond the license.
• Con: The trial has no stated duration, making it harder to plan an evaluation period without confirming terms with sales.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Curriculum Management Software.

• OpenCurriculum is worth considering for teams that want a free starting tier: its Teacher plan covers one user, 10 courses, and 200 MB of storage, while its Team plan covers up to 10 users, 50 courses, and 1.5 GB.
• Outcomap may suit users who want a free, limited mapping tool: its forever-free plan allows one map, five AI map generations and edits per month, and PDF exports up to five pages; the Pro plan is $90 a year.
• ExamSoft is another paid option, with capabilities and terms dependent on the customer’s order form.
• Modern Campus CMS is another paid platform to consider.
• Ilios is a paid, open-source option for schools that prioritize software they can fork and adapt through its community project.
• CourseLoop is another paid curriculum-management option.
• Kuali Curriculum Management is a paid alternative whose pricing is available through a personalized demo.
• PeopleGrove Engagement Hub is another web-based option to consider.

Verdict

Atlas is best for schools that need a coordinated, standards-based approach to curriculum planning and want reporting to identify coverage and alignment issues. Its customizable planning, standards library, and school-system integrations make it a serious option for curriculum teams. Look elsewhere if a published core price or a lighter-cost individual tool is essential; custom licensing and potentially substantial support and training charges make the total commitment important to establish first.