John Schlamann has spent 32 years teaching math at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South. With retirement approaching, he stood before the District 86 Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 3, and asked his soon-to-be-former employer to try something he built himself.
Schlamann proposed a free, one-year trial of Kovalna, an educational platform he created, according to Patch. The pitch: let willing teachers use it at no cost, and if it works, the district could drop an online coding software it currently pays more than $5,000 a year for.
"It is better than free," Schlamann told the board at the special meeting. "Kovalna, my website, can replace the online coding software we now pay over $5,000 a year for. So accepting this trial saves the district money immediately."
The app's premise runs against the grain of most ed-tech. Kovalna generates randomized math worksheets that a computer writes and a phone grades, but students complete the work on paper, side by side, with no screen between them. Group games and partner activities are built in.
Schlamann framed the philosophy bluntly: classrooms have gotten quieter as students sit alone with devices, and that quiet isn't calm. A child working alone on a screen is still a child working alone. He told board members that students take a page in their hands more seriously than anything online.
He acknowledged what he called an "unusual" conflict of interest — a district employee pitching his own product. That's why he structured the offer as a free trial rather than a sale.
The name Kovalna is Ukrainian for "a blacksmith's shop." A board official asked Schlamann to spell it during the meeting.
No vote was taken.
The proposal came eight days before District 86's first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 12. No response from district administration has been made public. The next regular Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 25, at Hinsdale South High School.
Hinsdale Education Ahead
- Wednesday, Aug. 12: District 86 first day of school for the 2026-27 school year.
- Tuesday, Aug. 25: District 86 Board of Education regular meeting, Hinsdale South High School. Public comment is typically available; check the district calendar for agenda and time.
