ECNO Learning
& Skills Academy
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Launching September 2026 · English & Français

ELSA FAQ

Straight answers about the ECNO Learning & Skills Academy — the system-aligned professional development hub for Ontario school boards, powered by Fair Chance Learning.

● $99/seat / year ● 800+ modules & resources ● 6 role-based paths ● WCAG 2.1 AA accessible
Sept 2026
Launch, EN & FR
$99
Per seat / per year
Reserve now
Pay later — no commitment
Ontario
Built for school boards

This page gives plain-language answers to the questions boards ask us most — how onboarding works, what it costs, when it launches, and how we handle data privacy, security, compliance and accessibility. It's a summary, not the legal text: the full Privacy Policy and Terms of Service are always the governing documents.

The basics

About ELSA & why we built it

ELSA is the ECNO Learning & Skills Academy — an online learning hub built specifically for Ontario school board operations and administrative staff. It's a single, scalable platform that replaces fragmented, one-off training with coordinated, role-based professional development for every board, every role and every budget.

Boards were stitching together professional development from many disconnected sources. ELSA brings it into one trusted, system-aligned place — so learning is consistent, role-relevant and easy to track. It was developed in partnership with ECNO and is powered by Fair Chance Learning, with content delivered through Skillsoft Percipio.

ELSA offers role-based learning paths designed for the people who keep a board running:

  • Senior Leadership
  • Information Technology
  • Human Resources
  • Communications
  • Finance & Payroll
  • Procurement

ELSA includes learning pathways and resources focused on AI Foundations and responsible AI use, cybersecurity awareness and best practices, workplace compliance, operational efficiency, and digital skills. Learners will also gain hands-on experience through role-specific scenarios and practical exercises designed to reflect real operational environments within school boards, including:

  • Micro-credentials and badges
  • 800+ up-to-date learning resources
  • Self-guided modules
  • AI-enabled simulations
  • Scenario-based practice
  • Role-specific labs
  • Skill assessments

Yes. ELSA is fully bilingual — all content is available in English and Canadian French throughout the platform.

ELSA is built specifically for school board operational environments. The learning is tailored to real workplace situations, with role-specific AI exercises and practical scenarios directly connected to everyday responsibilities.

ELSA focuses on practical, role-specific AI learning. Staff will learn how AI tools can support their day-to-day responsibilities in safe, effective, and responsible ways. ELSA tailors AI exercises and scenarios to operational responsibilities, helping learners apply AI tools in meaningful, relevant ways to their role-specific learning needs.

Yes! The platform includes pre-learning skill benchmarks as well as confidence and capability self-assessments to help guide personalized learning and identify knowledge gaps. ELSA includes real-time analytics and reporting dashboards that allow users and managers to monitor participation, progress, and completion rates to access efficacy.

ECNO's vision is to create a sustainable, continuously evolving learning ecosystem that supports operational excellence and future-ready skills across Ontario's education sector. ELSA supports ECNO's commitment to advancing digital capacity, operational excellence, cybersecurity readiness, and responsible innovation across Ontario school boards.

ELSA is scheduled to launch in September 2026 as a 1-year pilot initiative.

Onboarding

Getting started

Four simple steps:

  • 1. Book a demo — see the platform in action.
  • 2. Reserve your seats — confirm your seat count with ECNO and choose your pricing tier.
  • 3. Onboard your team — learners are set up seamlessly ahead of launch.
  • 4. Launch in September — go live and track progress from day one.

Once your seat count is confirmed, learners are onboarded ahead of the September launch so everyone is ready on day one. Each learner is placed into role-based pathways, and administrators get progress tracking and real-time analytics from launch.

No. With Reserve Now, Pay Later, you can secure your seats today with billing deferred until September 2026 — there's no commitment until then, so it's risk-free to reserve.

Learners are organized into six role-based learning paths so each person sees development relevant to their job. Administrators manage seats, assign pathways, and monitor completion and progress through the analytics dashboard.

Investment & timing

Pricing & launch

$99 per seat, per year — full access to all modules, pathways and platform features. No tiered feature gates; every seat gets the whole platform.

ELSA goes live in September 2026, in English and Français.

Billing is deferred until September 2026. You can reserve your seats now with no payment due until launch.

Yes! Flexible pricing options will be available for participating school boards and teams, with tiered discounts based on the number of users.

There is currently no commitment to sign up. Right now, the expression of interest form is not binding and is intended to help ECNO gauge participation interest and inform pilot planning. The upcoming pilot year will help ECNO refine, scale, and strengthen the long-term vision for ELSA. Early participation will help guide planning and resource development.

Your data

Data privacy

Fair Chance Learning Inc. is a Canadian company, and its services and Terms of Service are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and Canada. Personal information is collected, used and retained as set out in the Fair Chance Learning Privacy Policy, which is the governing document.

Yes. Ontario school boards are subject to MFIPPA (the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act), which governs how student and staff personal information is collected, used, stored and disclosed. We design data handling with these board obligations in mind and will work with your privacy office during procurement to support your specific requirements.

Yes. For the AI features delivered through Skillsoft Percipio, a “prompt moderation exception” is in place — no AI model inputs or outputs are logged or reviewed by Microsoft. In addition, organizations and learners can opt out of having conversation inputs logged. See Content & AI below for the full detail.

The complete, governing documents are online:

If your board needs specific data-handling commitments or a privacy review, contact us at general@fairchancelearning.com.

For your CTO & CIO

Security & compliance

The platform is built to current security standards:

  • In transit: all traffic is encrypted over TLS 1.2+ (HTTPS).
  • At rest: sensitive data is encrypted using AES-256.

Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect. Access is governed by role-based access control (RBAC), and the platform maintains audit logs of activity. Development follows OWASP Top 10 guidance for application security.

ELSA is built against the standards boards and LMS platforms expect:

  • SCORM SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (3rd Edition+) for consistent course playback.
  • xAPI Experience API statements to a Learning Record Store for granular learner activity.
  • LTI 1.3 LTI 1.3 Advantage — launch, deep linking and grade return — so ELSA plugs into your LMS.

Operational standards include monitoring and logging, documented backup and disaster-recovery plans, and full data export (CSV, JSON, SCORM, xAPI). APIs are versioned with deprecation notices.

Formal security attestations and reports can be provided to your CTO/CIO on request as part of procurement — just reach out to us or ECNO.

Inclusive by design

Accessibility

Yes. ELSA is built to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA — including text alternatives for non-text content, full keyboard navigability, and a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Our brand even maintains tested “accessibility anchor” colours for moments where strong visual clarity matters.

For web content, AODA (through the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation) requires WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Because WCAG 2.1 includes everything in 2.0 plus additional criteria for mobile, low-vision and cognitive accessibility, building to 2.1 AA means ELSA meets the AODA bar and goes beyond it.

AODA also includes non-technical duties (accessible formats on request, accessible feedback channels, accessibility in procurement). We support boards in meeting these alongside the technical conformance above.

Yes — a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) documenting WCAG conformance is available for your procurement and accessibility teams on request.

Skillsoft Percipio integration

Content & AI

ELSA's learning content is delivered through an integration with Skillsoft Percipio — bringing 800+ modules, AI-powered simulations and skills benchmarks into the ELSA platform, organized into ELSA's role-based pathways.

Skillsoft uses Microsoft AI Services in the Azure Commercial Cloud, within the same geography as the Percipio deployment. Customers deployed in the US use US Azure infrastructure; customers deployed in the EU use EU Azure infrastructure. Communication between Percipio and the AI services in Azure is by way of APIs over TLS 1.2.

No. A “prompt moderation exception” is in place, ensuring no AI model inputs or outputs are logged or reviewed by Microsoft. In addition, organizations and learners can opt out of having conversation inputs logged.

Percipio is deployed across US and EU data-centre locations, with the AI services running in the matching geography (US infrastructure for US deployments, EU infrastructure for EU deployments). For data-residency specifics relevant to your board, we can confirm the applicable deployment details during procurement.

Ready to bring ELSA to your board?

Book a demo to see the platform in action and reserve your team's seats before September 2026. Simple to set up and risk-free to reserve.

Book your demo → Visit ecno.org/ELSA