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16 New Districts Join the League of Innovative Schools

Emma Mills

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Key Ideas

  • The Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools welcomes 16 new school districts for the 2026-27 school year!
  • From Texas to Vermont, these districts are led by some of the most forward-thinking superintendents in the country and were accepted into the League based on their commitment to equity, excellence, and innovation in education.
  • Superintendents from this newest cohort share highlights from their districts’ current innovative initiatives and reflect on the impact they hope their League membership will bring.

Sixteen school districts will join the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools for the 2026-27 school year, bringing new perspectives, experiences, and ideas to a national community of education leaders committed to advancing better learning opportunities for all students.

Together, these districts add to the League’s growing community of school systems working to move beyond isolated innovations and toward the conditions, practices, and partnerships that make meaningful change possible.

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of the League of Innovative Schools!

  • Bucyrus City Schools
  • Del Mar Union School District
  • Edison Township School District
  • Franklin Square UFSD
  • Fremont School District 79
  • Glen Cove City School District
  • Grand Island Central School District
  • Hempfield Area School District
  • La Joya Independent School District
  • Las Lomitas Elementary School District
  • Leonia Public Schools
  • Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools
  • Mount Mansfield Unified Union School District
  • Piscataway Township Schools
  • Pittsburgh Public Schools
  • Pleasant View Elementary School District

The League selected this year’s new members based on their educational leadership, demonstrated commitment to equity and excellence, innovative vision for learning, key achievements, and collaborative spirit. While each district is approaching innovation in its own way, the cohort shares a commitment to asking what is possible for students—and what it takes to make that possibility a reality across an entire system.

“The diversity of approaches we see across our League member school systems is one of the network’s greatest strengths,” shared Jillian Doggett, director of network supports at Digital Promise. “Members join the League to learn from what other systems are trying, ask better questions of their own work, share what they are learning, and build relationships with peers navigating many of the same challenges.”

Innovation looks different in every community

Through their membership in the League, superintendents and leaders from their districts have opportunities to learn directly from peers, step inside real school and district systems, and collaborate around the complex challenges of transforming teaching and learning. Throughout the year, members engage in peer-to-peer learning, in-person events, and opportunities to co-create and pilot research-based approaches with Digital Promise researchers and fellow school systems.

We asked the new cohort’s superintendents to share how their districts are approaching innovation. Their responses reveal a wide range of priorities and strategies, as well as several common themes: putting students and communities at the center of decision-making, creating more personalized and authentic learning experiences, preparing students for an evolving world of work and technology, and building the conditions that allow educators and students to thrive.

Putting students and communities at the center

Across the cohort, innovation is closely connected to voice, partnership, and belonging.

“Our innovation agenda for equity must be community owned and focus on empowering every staff member in our district to lead, regardless of role or position. Our ‘partnership first’ culture has resulted in commitments across higher education, workforce and economic development, business and industry, government, state network partners, and community based organizations.” Robert Britton, Bucyrus City Schools (Ohio)

Building systems that support every learner

For many of the new members, innovation is not about adding another program or adopting the newest technology. It is about strengthening the systems and practices that make high-quality learning possible for every student.

“Innovation in our district is human-centered. Technology, including artificial intelligence, serves as a tool to enhance teaching and learning, not replace the relationships at the core of education. Our educators are supported through ongoing professional learning, collaborative structures, and access to real-time data, allowing them to make informed instructional decisions that directly impact student outcomes.” Jared Bloom, Franklin Square UFSD (New York)

Expanding pathways and possibilities for students

Other districts are rethinking what learning can look like when students have greater choice, stronger connections to their interests, and clearer pathways to their futures.

“Our ongoing development of a career pathway model will continue to provide students with greater opportunities to move beyond a one-size-fits-all high school experience toward more personalized, student-centered learning. Our goal is to create pathways aligned with students’ individual interests, strengths, and future goals while expanding opportunities for project-based and interdisciplinary learning experiences.” Mark Holtzman, Hempfield Area School District (Pennsylvania)

Preparing students for a changing world

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are also shaping how several new League members think about the future—not simply as technologies to adopt, but as opportunities to engage students, educators, and communities in thoughtful experimentation and learning.

“Rather than implementing a defensive ban on artificial intelligence, [we] proactively established a student-led AI club at Montpelier High School and hosted a landmark student-led AI symposium. This symposium, combined with an interactive public bulletin board, was designed to capture community sentiment and drive the conversation around generative tech.” Libby Bonesteel, Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools (Vermont)

From ideas to shared learning

From Nov. 3-5, representatives from these 16 districts will join fellow League members in Tempe, Arizona, for the League’s biannual convening hosted by Arizona State University Preparatory Academy (ASU Prep). Through site visits across ASU Prep’s diverse learning environments, peer conversations, and collaborative sessions, members will explore what new ideas might look like in their own contexts, what conditions would make them possible, and what they can learn from one another as we try.

Launched in 2011, the League of Innovative Schools is a national network of school systems committed to learning with and from one another as they tackle some of education’s most complex challenges.

“The League is a place where district leaders can test ideas, share lessons from practice, surface challenges honestly, and build relationships that support long-term systems change,” shared Doggett.

As the League enters its 15th year, this new cohort reflects on what has made the community enduring: there is enormous value in having peers who ask hard questions, share what they are learning, and imagine what could be possible together.

The League is commemorating this milestone by sharing stories of innovative leadership from across the network. Join the celebration and share your story of impact.

Authors

Emma Mills

Project Director, Communications

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