League of Innovative Schools

Research & Pilot Opportunities

Through their membership, League districts become catalysts for change by partnering with Digital Promise on research pilots and projects to validate and scale up promising League-led innovations across the network and nationwide.

These opportunities allow League members to deepen connections, achieve tangible results for their districts, and get powerful leadership development, all while:

Pioneering cutting-edge practices, solidifying their district’s position at the forefront of innovation.

Validating and scaling up promising innovations across the network and nationwide.

Spreading and accelerating the pace of transformation in education by sharing their learnings and successes.

Gaining early adopter advantage to new solutions by testing and implementing educational tools and resources.

“The League's focus on community engagement has helped us strengthen our ties with [our] community. We have launched initiatives that not only involve parents and local businesses in the educational process, but also address community-specific needs.”
– Bob Hill, Superintendent, Springfield City School District (Ohio)

Helping to Shape the Future of Education Research & Development

Explore Digital Promise research and pilot projects that League members have participated in over the years:

Creating Inclusive Cybersecurity Pathways

In partnership with Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation, League districts engage in the intentional design and implementation of a three-year cybersecurity pathway to create opportunities for all students, with support for diverse student populations.

Creating Computational Thinking Pathways

In partnership with Digital Promise, League districts helped to develop a toolkit that supports school and district leaders to establish Computational Thinking (CT) Pathways aligned with their internal initiatives and vision to create inclusive opportunities within computing for all students.

Supporting Diverse Workforce Recruitment & Retention

Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation actively supports League districts to engage teachers of color in the research, design, and development of innovative solutions to address challenges posed by pipeline issues and teacher shortages.

Improving Equity in Middle School Math

Digital Promise – with support from a five-year U.S. Department of Education grant – is partnering with League districts to address persistent inequities in mathematics by improving the quality of middle school mathematics instruction through meaningful use of technology.

Advancing Equitable Systems Transformation

League districts of various sizes and compositions are partnering with Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation to address inequities in their districts, from equitable learning pathways to teacher cultural development.

Engaging in Racial Equity Discourse

With support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Digital Promise partnered with a League district and their community to build teacher capacity and competency for engaging students in racial equity and social justice discourse.

Addressing Student Mental Health

Digital Promise’s Center for Inclusive Innovation partnered with a League district and community partner to collaboratively address an equity challenge, which the community identified as the role racial trauma plays in student mental health.

Co-Creating Policies & Guidance Around AI in Education

Digital Promise and 10 League districts are co-creating guidance for districts’ Acceptable Use Policies, including considerations for generative AI.

Leveraging Computational Thinking for Next Generation Science

League districts leveraged Digital Promise’s toolkit, which helps teachers reflect on their practice and identify opportunities to integrate computational thinking in middle school science. The content can be adapted to integrate computational thinking in other contexts.

Adopting a Maker Learning Leadership Framework

Using the Making Learning Leadership Framework, which is designed to help schools develop a pathway to sustainable, equitable, and powerful maker learning programs for all learners, League leaders made the case and space for maker learning across their districts.

Co-Developing Challenge Based Science Learning

In partnership with Digital Promise, a collaborative of three school districts from across the United States explored how the Challenge Based Learning framework can be used to create science experiences that lead to Deeper Learning for students.

Explore League Research and Pilot Projects