The situation
Excelsior, a public charter school in California serving 2,600 students across eight sites, has relied on Canvas for years to deliver video-rich instruction. Early in the 2025–2026 school year, new IT filtering changes unexpectedly blocked YouTube videos embedded throughout the curriculum. Core content became inaccessible, and with no option to simply remove the filter, the district needed a quick and reliable solution to restore video access.
Insights
As Excelsior leaders worked to resolve the video access issue, they realized that relying on externally hosted videos left content vulnerable to filtering changes and age-based restrictions outside the district’s control. Excelsior had also been working on ways to give teachers, especially those supporting independent-study students, visibility into students' engagement with video content. What began as a technical workaround surfaced the need for in-context video instruction that gave the district and educators more control and insights
The migration tool in Canvas Studio was a game-changer. Everything moved so quickly.
Stephanie Judd
Curriculum Coordinator, Excelsior Charter Schools
Solution
The district quickly adopted Canvas Studio, building on a platform their educators already knew and trusted. Rather than immediately rolling out the new tool, the district first focused on migrating all existing video content into Studio. With the YouTube migration tool reducing the manual load, the process was completed faster than the team had imagined. A small group of district staff began using Studio to learn the tool before formal teacher training began in January 2026.
As a hybrid program with students utilizing remote learning, Canvas Studio gives teachers specific data on how long students watched a video on their own. Studio provides great data that allows teachers to gauge student engagement and check for understanding at the same time.
Stephanie Judd
Curriculum Coordinator, Excelsior Charter Schools
Learn how Canvas Studio can cut down on distractions and ramp up valuable data