School visits are a defining feature of League convenings. Over the course of a full day, leaders engage directly with educators, school leaders, community members, and students to see how instructional practices, district culture, and systems come together to shape student experiences.
At their core, these visits serve as a form of professional learning grounded in real-world practice. Leaders don’t just hear about new ideas; they see them in action and leave with concrete, actionable strategies they can adapt to their own contexts.
During the convening school visits across Kent and Issaquah School Districts, students spoke directly with attendees about their learning, including opportunities to pursue hands-on experience with local community partners during the school day.
For many attendees, this blend of observation and connection is what makes the experience so impactful. At our Spring 2026 Convening in Seattle, more than 300 superintendents, district leaders, education partners, and researchers had the opportunity to visit 20 learning sites across Kent School District and Issaquah School District. The Digital Promise team collaborated closely with the host districts to design visits that both highlight the unique nature of each district and equip attendees with meaningful learnings.
This collaborative approach of planning school visits in partnership with host districts means that no two school visits experiences are exactly the same. Whether it’s regional culture, a journey of transformation, or industry partnerships, every experience is tailored to reflect the district’s unique context and highlight the practices and environments they want to showcase.
At the Spring 2026 Convening in Seattle, this looked like learning how Issaquah’s high school redesign initiative supports real-world, career-connected learning; while in Kent, participants experienced how one of Washington’s most diverse districts advances multilingual learning through dual language programs grounded in GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) strategies.
Unlike traditional conference school tours that might offer a more passive or observational experience, League school visits provide an immersive and authentic look into a district’s priorities, challenges, and ongoing work. In partnership with district teams, we design each visit through a set of guiding questions that shape what participants experience on site.
What learning models or environments showcase their district’s instructional vision? What programs or spaces highlight their community or industry partnerships? What should League members take away from their experience?
School visits give attendees opportunities to reflect real-time on what they’re observing and discuss potential applications for their own work with fellow district leaders from around the country.
During the Spring 2026 Convening, Kent and Issaquah School Districts offered attendees an in-depth look at how they are addressing core challenges related to accessibility, inclusion and future-ready pathways. Participants chose from eight different track experiences based on the area most relevant to their own work, allowing them to engage more deeply with insights that could be applied to their districts.
In visits to Issaquah School District, attendees experienced firsthand the district’s diverse learning environments, partnerships with local businesses and community organizations such as FISH Salmon Hatchery and Honda Kubota, and opportunities for authentic student voice and leadership. On the “Innovative School Design” track, leaders observed a microschool model within Maywood Middle School, learned about the district’s 10-year journey toward a learner-centered high school, and explored plans for Issaquah’s new high school campus as it prepares to break ground.
Throughout the school visit day, attendees observe and interact with students across grades and in a variety of learning contexts, including middle school students who spoke about a special internship program that is equipping them with professional skills at an early age.
At Kent School District, attendees gained insight into their inclusive learning experiences, multilingual pathways, and partnerships with community organizations and regional industry partners. On the “Aerospace and Manufacturing” track, leaders toured industry partner sites, including the Museum of Flight and Skills Inc., where students engage in authentic, hands-on learning directly tied to high-demand regional industries.
The learning doesn’t end when leaders return to the conference hotel at the end of the day. The following day’s programming builds on their experience by continuing conversations, reflecting on observations, and surfacing ideas and implications for their own systems through guided reflections, peer discussions, and deep-dive sessions with host district leaders.
A defining strength of the League is the access members have to a network of like-minded leaders. Whether it’s reaching out to a superintendent to learn more about their approach or organizing follow-up visits with their teams, members continue to build on their learning well beyond the convening through ongoing connection and peer exchange.
After the school visits, attendees come together with their district teams to debrief what they saw and identify promising approaches to adapt for their own contexts.
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