Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders Today: The League of Innovative Students

Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: The League of Innovative Students

A graphic featuring the League of Innovative Students logo to the left and a photo of three students sitting at a table for a panel. One student in the middle is speaking into the microphone.

April 12, 2024 | By

In a rapidly evolving world where innovation is the key to progress, it is imperative that the voices of tomorrow’s leaders are not only heard but actively involved in shaping the educational landscape.

Through Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation (CII), the League of Innovative Students (LOIS) provides a platform for high school students to become catalysts for change. This year’s spring cohort—made up of 43 brilliant student leaders hailing from districts in the League of Innovative Schools across the country—is embarking on a journey of collaboration, creativity, and community impact to transform education.

Elevating Student Voice and Leadership

At the heart of LOIS is a profound belief in the power of student voice and leadership. The initiative recognizes that students should not merely be recipients of education but active contributors to the ongoing dialogue, research, and design of the future of the education landscape.

By fostering an environment that values the unique perspectives of youth, LOIS empowers students to become leaders in schools’ and districts’ discussions surrounding educational equity and social justice, and designers of the systems and structure of education itself.

Design Sprint: A Platform for Innovation

Design sprints are a process in which students, developers, and researchers rapidly co-investigate challenges confronting today’s youth and co-create innovative solutions in a way that centers student voices. This iterative process is invaluable in aligning key stakeholders in the education landscape on what they believe are the most pressing issues and their goals for the future. It also provides an opportunity to identify potential barriers early on in the implementation and design of edtech product testing thanks to the participation of students.

Each design sprint marks a pivotal moment for students in LOIS, and offers an immersive experience that challenges students to think beyond traditional boundaries to develop creative solutions to complex educational problems alongside district leaders, edtech product developers, and education researchers. Design sprints allow for continuous improvement, ensuring that outputs from each sprint remain relevant and impactful in supporting the education and well-being of today’s youth.

This year, the LOIS spring cohort has been meeting together virtually with CII staff members on projects that build their research and design-thinking skills to impact the national education landscape. Their three priority projects are:

Shaping the Digital Promise Challenge Map
Co-Designing a Culturally Responsive Product Framework
Co-Designing EdTech Feedback Loops

Students research the top equity challenges in education faced by their fellow peers and propose innovative solutions to school and district leaders.

Students work side-by-side with entrepreneurs to incorporate their voices and perspectives in developing a national education framework and product “requirements” for equity in educational technology (edtech).

Students collaborate with product developers to create a model and process for collecting input and feedback from learners that will guide the research and design of edtech tools.

Shaping the Digital Promise Challenge Map

Students research the top equity challenges in education faced by their fellow peers and propose innovative solutions to school and district leaders.

Co-Designing a Culturally Responsive Product Framework

Students work side-by-side with entrepreneurs to incorporate their voices and perspectives in developing a national education framework and product “requirements” for equity in educational technology (edtech).

Co-Designing EdTech Feedback Loops

Students collaborate with product developers to create a model and process for collecting input and feedback from learners that will guide the research and design of edtech tools.

To learn more about outcomes for each of the projects and key takeaways for students, visit our web page.

Championing the Power of Collaboration

Student Voice and Leadership are core tenets of the Inclusive Innovation Model, as developed by the Center for Inclusive Innovation. LOIS embodies the importance of collaboration with students in creating meaningful change. Not only do students work alongside district leaders, education policymakers, educational technology developers, and researchers, but they also get to do so alongside peers from across the country.

The cohort model encourages the dynamic exchange of ideas, sharing experiences, and formation of a supportive community. As students co-design and collaborate on projects, they create a network of leaders committed to making a positive difference in their communities and society, in addition to developing innovative solutions that are grounded in practicality and their lived experiences.

The League of Innovative Students is not just an extracurricular activity; it’s a movement that recognizes the transformative power of student voices. By providing a platform for collaboration, fostering creativity, and advocating for Inclusive Innovation approaches to teaching and learning, students are building capacity for schools to address challenges. Students are not just the leaders of tomorrow, but crucial contributors to the innovation and progress of today.

Want to know more about the League of Innovative Students? Visit our web page!

Meet the innovators in this year’s spring LOIS cohort!

A headshot of LOIS student Addison Frank.

Addison Frank, California Area School District (PA)

A headshot of LOIS student Ahriana Chavez.

Ahriana Chavez, Covina-Valley United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Allison Cho.

Allison Cho, Rowland United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Amanda Li.

Amanda Li, Rowland United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Charlotte Moy.

Charlotte Moy, Pascack Valley Regional High School District

A headshot of LOIS student Daisy Zhu.

Daisy Zhu, Rowland Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Darien Chavez.

Darien Chavez, Kansas City Public Schools

A headshot of LOIS student Eka Yang.

Eka Yang, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Ella Neil.

Ella Neil, California Area School District (PA)

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Esssence Alexander, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Ethan Yang, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Eunice Chung.

Eunice Chung, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Gabe Melgoza, Pajaro Valley United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Gianna Herrera.

Gianna Herrera, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Haley Chow.

Haley Chow, Rowland Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Hannah Geer.

Hannah Geer, Rowland Unified School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Hummer Xu, Rowland Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Jin-Jin Sanglimsuwan.

Jin-Jin Sanglimsuwan, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Jordan Davis.

Jordan Davis, Capitol School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Jose Lopez, Pajaro Valley United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Joseph Shin.

Joseph Shin, Fox Chapel Area School District

A headshot of LOIS student Kaashvi Patil.

Kaashvi Patil, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Keena Weigel.

Keena Weigel, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Kine Krokan, Mineola Union Free School District

A headshot of LOIS student Krisha Singhani.

Krisha Singhani, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Laila Golla.

Laila Golla, Fox Chapel Area School District

A headshot of LOIS student Lizi Mamukashvili.

Lizi Mamukashvili, Norwalk Public Schools

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Matthew Suwiryo, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Mena Alvarez.

Mena Alvarez, Sunnyside School District

A headshot of LOIS student Michael Eisenberg.

Michael Eisenberg, El Segundo Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Nadre Digbohou.

Nadre Digbohou, Fox Chapel Area School District

A headshot of LOIS student Neil Chandran.

Neil Chandran, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Nicholas O'Connor.

Nicholas O'Connor, Pascack Valley Regional High School District

A headshot of LOIS student Nicole Rinaldi.

Nicole Rinaldi, Rowland Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Nikolaj Vavpetic.

Niko Vavpetic, Fox Chapel Area School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Noemi Munoz, Pajaro Valley United School District

A headshot of LOIS student Priscilla Madrigal.

Priscilla Madrigal, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A purple circular logo for the League of Innovative Students.

Richie Ramos, Covina-Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Sarai Kameoka-Bruner.

Sarai Kameoka-Bruner, Rowland Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Shriya Krishnamurthy.

Shriya Krishnamurthy, Fox Chapel Area School District

A headshot of LOIS student Sophia Gonzalez.

Sophia Gonzalez, Sunnyside School District

A headshot of LOIS student Trisha Tiwary.

Tricia Tiwary, San Ramon Valley Unified School District

A headshot of LOIS student Weiss Lee.

Weiss Lee, Rowland Unified School District

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