TPT Celebrates 20 Years of Being by Educators' Side, Helping Millions Thrive Through Tremendous Change

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Sep 30, 2026, 08:15 ET

More than seven million teachers have relied on TPT for high-quality educational resources and a trusted community

SAN MATEO, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2006, teachers looking for an engaging holiday-themed review activity could either spend the night making one from scratch or ask around the teachers' lounge and hope somebody had something. Now, the same teachers can find exactly what they need on TPT in minutes, created with care by fellow educators who filled similar gaps in their own classrooms.

TPT began with a simple realization by a public school teacher: students learn better when their teachers share ideas with each other. As TPT marks its 20th anniversary, that core premise has made it the world's largest marketplace of PreK–12 resources, giving teachers everywhere instant access to their peers' collective wisdom.

"Nobody understands what works in a classroom better than the person standing in front of it. That's why when millions of teachers share their ideas, instruction improves, and students feel the difference in every lesson," said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning. "For twenty years, educators have turned to TPT to make teaching a little easier and bring out the best in their learners. We're proud to be the place where that happens."

Two decades of impact
More than 7 million educators worldwide—including more than 85% of U.S. teachers—have relied on TPT.

For Teacher-Authors on the platform, TPT offers the chance to turn hard-won classroom insights and passion for education into a business. In TPT's 20 years, 10,000 Teacher-Authors have earned more than $10,000, with many continuing to grow their stores to extraordinary heights..

TPT has changed Teacher-Authors' lives in myriad ways. Sheila Cantonwine, a former Tennessee math educator who taught elementary and middle school students, used TPT earnings to help pay for her children's college education. Laura Merritt, who has spent years in PreK–7 classrooms in Ontario, Canada, is looking forward to an earlier retirement and the financial freedom to visit her grandchildren. For Isaac Harms, a Minnesota middle and high school social studies teacher, working with educators across the country on TPT has elevated how he approaches lesson planning and classroom engagement. "The exchange of ideas and collaborative spirit within this community have pushed me to evolve continuously, ultimately benefiting the students I teach every day," he said.

Meanwhile, for educators who use it, TPT means walking into class with a trusted, high-quality resource in hand, no matter the subject or grade level. As one classroom teacher shared, "TPT allows us to instantly access creative, rigorous and classroom-tested resources designed by actual teachers," which help keep large groups of learners "inspired and engaged every day."

This year, English language arts and math were the most in-demand resource categories on TPT. At the same time, activities and printables remained teachers' go-to formats—the kind of practical, ready-to-use materials that define the marketplace.

Standing with teachers through every shift
Educators have faced no shortage of new challenges since 2006.

In the 2010s, the rise of personalized learning put teachers under pressure to differentiate instruction as achievement gaps widened in their classrooms. Luckily, they weren't alone: peers on TPT delivered materials—like sixth-grade math worksheets with multiple levels built in—that helped educators reach students where they were. And in 2020, when the pandemic forced an abrupt shift to remote learning, TPT gave teachers digital resources that kept lessons going through a pivot no one could have planned for.

The pandemic faded, but a growing emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL) soon took hold. In TPT's latest State of the Classroom survey, meeting students' emotional and behavioral needs ranked as educators' top concern for the second year in a row, ahead of academics. While those resources aren't typically available in standard curricula, they're plentiful on TPT.

Now, TPT is helping teachers navigate perhaps the most consequential shift yet—the rise of artificial intelligence. TPT's survey shows educators are approaching AI thoughtfully: while 83% have used the technology, most feel comfortable with AI-created materials only when a person has reviewed or refined them. To protect the quality of the resources teachers value, TPT has implemented tools to surface and remove stores associated with low-effort, AI-generated content, with additional policies and guidelines to come.

Educators' dedication and heart have powered TPT since its inception. Ariela Sirota, a K–3 special education teacher in Maryland, captures that spirit: "It is so gratifying to know that I am creating resources to help kids learn far beyond my own classroom." No matter what changes the next 20 years bring, TPT is ready to meet them with the same unwavering focus on trust, quality and community.

About TPT
TPT is the world's largest marketplace of PreK–12 resources, powered by a global community of experienced educators. Used by more than 85% of U.S. teachers, millions of educators rely on TPT for engaging materials backed by real classroom insights. Administrators nationwide also use TPT School Express to fund teachers' access to high-quality supplementary resources, helping bring their curriculum to life. TPT joined the IXL Learning family of brands in 2023, which includes IXL, Rosetta Stone, Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, SpanishDictionary.com, inglés.com, Wyzant, Vocabulary.com, ABCya, Education.com, Carson Dellosa Education and Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. Discover how IXL Learning's products are shaping the future of education by exploring its newsroom.