Knowledge Pillars

We’re excited to announce that 12 of our exams are now on the Texas Industry-Based Certification list!

What does this mean?

✅ Earning a place on the Texas IBC list signals that a certification meets the Texas Education Agency’s standards for preparing students for in-demand careers. Schools that offer IBC-approved certifications can access state funding and gain recognition for helping students graduate career-ready.

Knowledge Pillars certifications give students the skills employers are actually looking for. Things like applied coding, AI, web development, and cybersecurity.
Each exam goes beyond theory, helping students prove what they can do in real-world situations.

For Texas schools and learners, this means more opportunities, stronger career pathways, and a workforce ready to power one of the largest economies in the world.

Check out our website (link in comments) for the full list of certifications approved in Texas, and how they map to TEKS standards!

(p.s. share with a Texas educator for 7 years of good luck 😉)

Knowledge Pillars is coming to a city near you!

We are hitting the road this month, and we want to see you! Read along to see if we’ll be in your area.

Starting this week, we’ll be attending CTE and CS events across the country, and at each event, we’ll be giving away teacher resources, free product to a lucky few, and stopping by to see some of you at your schools.

Where will Knowledge Pillars be this June, you ask?

Today we're at the Utah Summer CTE conference with free testing for all who attend! Come see if you have the skills and knowledge to pass one of our exams!

Next week (June 15-19th), we’ll be at two events:

Vanessa Knox and Brittany Wood will be in San Antonio, Texas, for the We Teach CS conference.

Thomas Lange and Aaron Osmond will be at the Certified Conference in Nashville, Tennessee!

If you’re attending either event, be sure to stop by our booths! We’ll be giving away the Blueprint to Build Teacher Bundle, a special collection of classroom-ready coding projects, to anyone who stops by and says hi!

Where else will we be this summer? Well, stay tuned, more news on that coming soon.

Come and meet us at the WeTeach_CS Summit 2026 on June 15–16 in San Antonio.

We’re giving away the Blueprint to Build Teacher Bundle, a 3-piece collection of ready-to-use projects. Each project was developed by a fellow CTE educator and tests students' real skills in coding and cybersecurity. The Bundle is available to all teachers that visit us at the booth, so be sure to join us!

This conference brings together CS educators from across Texas and beyond to explore the latest in K–12 computer science and cybersecurity education, from classroom-ready tools and innovative teaching strategies to culturally responsive curriculum.

At Knowledge Pillars we support exactly this mission with Texas TEA-approved Industry-Based Certifications (IBC) in coding, AI, cybersecurity, and web development, all aligned to Texas TEKS.

We can't wait to meet you!

Dear Ohio Business, Marketing & Finance Educators,

The Web Certified Editor Certification from Knowledge Pillars is available for the 2026-2027 school year, approved by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW) for Business, Marketing & Finance.

Please contact Vanessa Knox to learn how this certification can support your programs of study and provide up to date skills for your students.

WCE: https://knowledge-pillars.com/wce-web-certified-editor/

Ohio Certifications: https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Ohio-s-Graduation-Requirements/Contacts-and-Resources/Industry-Recognized-Credentials/Industry-Recognized-Credentials-by-Career-Field/Business-Marketing-and-Finance

Business, Marketing, and Finance | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Below, the table identifies current credentials on the list. If there are credentials that have been added to the list but are not available until the following school year, they will be listed below the current list.   

We are excited to announce our collaboration with Miami Dade College and the National Applied AI Consortium to support high school educators through the Knowledge Pillars AI Certifications Teacher Academy.

This initiative is focused on helping high school teachers gain practical AI knowledge, earn industry recognized AI credentials, and bring classroom ready AI learning pathways to students.

Through this partnership, selected high school educators will have no cost access to training and certification on three stackable AI certifications:

- AI Industry Acceleration Specialist
- Coding in AI Specialist
- AI Business Implementation Practitioner

At Knowledge Pillars, we believe AI education must be practical, responsible, and connected to real workforce opportunities. We are honored to support Miami Dade College and NAAIC in helping educators prepare students for college, careers, internships, and entry level opportunities in the AI enabled workforce.

Read the full announcement here:
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/916414455/knowledge-pillars-miami-dade-college-and-national-applied-ai-consortium-launch-ai-training-for-educators

Knowledge Pillars, Miami Dade College and National Applied AI Consortium Launch AI Training for Educators Knowledge Pillars joins Miami Dade College and NAAIC to help high school educators prepare students with applied AI skills and industry certification pathways.

For our last highlight this Teacher Appreciation Week, let's introduce you to Rebecca Vadakara.

She teaches
-Mathematics
-Business Education
-IT
-and Computer Science at Dr. Joaquín García High School (go Bulldogs).

Rebecca believes student success grows when learning feels purposeful, consistent, and connected to the real world. In her classroom, certification prep goes beyond practice tests. Students build confidence through short, steady practice, career-connected lessons, hands-on simulations, and meaningful recognition of their progress.

That’s one reason Rebecca values Knowledge Pillars. The platform helps her keep materials organized, track student progress, support accommodations, and give students practical certification preparation by topic and task.

Thank you, Rebecca, for helping students see the purpose behind what they’re learning and the possibilities ahead of them.

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This Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re celebrating Robert Dodson.

He's the:
- Engineering Magnet Instructor
-Robotics Sponsor
- Programming teacher
-and Swim Coach

..at Middleton STEM Magnet High School.

In his classroom, certification prep is bigger than the test.

Mr. Dodson uses the Knowledge Pillars Java Coding Specialist exam to help students think like programmers, break down problems, spot misconceptions, and approach code the way they might in a real client scenario.

He also used the curriculum, tools, and certification to help prepare students for the AP Computer Science test. The combination of free-response practice and in-depth multiple-choice questions helped his students see how code can look correct while behaving differently than expected.

That’s why Mr. Dodson values Knowledge Pillars. The Java Coding Specialist exam feels like a true learning tool, giving students a study guide for their upcoming AP exam and a preview of the problem-solving they’ll use in the workplace.

Thank you, Mr. Dodson, for helping students connect classroom learning to real programming skills and future careers.

How have certifications changed your students' experience?

"Meet students where they are, give them the tools and encouragement they need, and celebrate every step of their progress."

That's Gabriella McKay's teaching philosophy. It's also why 90% of her students pass their Knowledge Pillars certifications.

This Teacher Appreciation Week, we're celebrating educators like Gabriella who quietly change the trajectory of their students' careers, one classroom at a time.

And we're thrilled to have her on stage at Certified 2026, sharing exactly how she does it.

Join us for her session: Inside a WordPress Certified Classroom: How Real-World Practice and Student-Centered Pacing Drive a 90% Pass Rate.

Thank you, Gabriella. Teachers like you are why this work matters.

Educators, here’s why a Web Development on WordPress certification is one of the most practical credentials your students can earn.

WordPress powers more than 40% of the web. The skills your students build in a Knowledge Pillars web development certification aren’t just academic; they’re the same skills small businesses, agencies, and nonprofits pay for every single day.

Plus, you get **everything you need** in one platform: labs, curriculum, practice tests, and the exam itself.

What students actually walk away with:
🌐A website they designed and built within our controlled lab environment
🛠️ Hands-on experience with the tools used by professional web developers
💼 A resume-ready, industry-recognized credential
🚀 A real certification paving the pathway into freelance work, internships, and tech careers

A quick reminder that we adjusted the names of each certification for a greater emphasis on the skill of Web Development. Each WordPress-related certification is now part of the **Web Certification Suite**: WCE, WCA, WCD, WPS, and WES.

Same trusted exams, same learning outcomes.

Full breakdown of every cert and who it’s built for is right here 👇

WCE, WCA, WCD, WPS, WES: A Plain-English Guide to Knowledge Pillars' Web Dev Certification Suite - Knowledge Pillars WordPress powers 43% of every website on the internet — roughly 61% of all websites that use a content management system. It may be the single most common platform your students will encounter in the workforce, if they become web developers, digital marketers, e-commerce managers, office administr...

Are you a Texas CTE leader?

Texas Industry-Based Certification rules are about to change, and we want to help you prepare.

So, we built a tool for assessing your certification portfolio.

It takes just 4 minutes, and will give you a starting point for adjusting to the new changes!

Check out the IBC portfolio assessment tool down below.

To my educator and administrator colleagues across Texas, There's an important shift coming from the Texas Education Agency that will impact how you manage Industry-Based Certifications… | Aaron Osmond To my educator and administrator colleagues across Texas, There's an important shift coming from the Texas Education Agency that will impact how you manage Industry-Based Certifications (IBCs). Historically, IBCs did not need to align to a Program of Study and could come from any tier. That is chang...