Learning Together, Leading Forward: Ednovate’s Innovative National Partnerships
At Ednovate, innovation is not about pursuing the newest idea simply because it is new. It is about continually asking an important question: How can we create stronger, more relevant, and more equitable learning experiences for every student?
Answering that question requires collaboration. Through partnerships with leading education organizations, innovative school systems, and education technology developers, Ednovate team members are learning from promising practices across the country—and sharing their own expertise to help shape the future of education.
These partnerships create meaningful professional learning opportunities for staff while bringing new ideas, resources, and possibilities directly back to Ednovate students and schools.
Reimagining High School With the Carnegie Foundation
Ednovate is entering its second year as a member of the Carnegie Foundation and XQ Institute’s Future of High School Network. The national network brings together 24 innovative school systems serving approximately 90,000 students to help build a new model for American high schools—one that emphasizes demonstrated learning, durable skills, and meaningful preparation for life after graduation rather than measuring progress primarily through time spent in a classroom.
During the first year, Ednovate leaders collaborated with educators from across the country to exchange ideas about everything from school schedules and professional development to classroom instruction and the overall student experience. The partnership has also connected Ednovate with research and experts who have helped inform the network’s evolving approach to student wellness and its Whole Child College Readiness Indicator.
The learning will continue during the 2026–2027 school year. In January, Ednovate’s Kristine Rezny, Brianna Casiano, and Deyana McKoy will attend the Innovation Schools Action Summit hosted by Empower Schools in New Orleans. The convening will focus on the “Future of High School” and include visits to innovative schools, model showcases, conversations with students and community members, and structured planning time for education leaders.
These experiences allow Ednovate staff members to examine promising approaches in action, learn alongside national peers, and return with ideas that can strengthen the experience of students and educators across the network.
Designing an Equitable Future With Artificial Intelligence
Ednovate is also joining the Horizon Project, a new two-year initiative from AI for Equity that brings together public school organizations to explore how artificial intelligence could transform the high school experience.
The project starts with a bold design question: Knowing what we know about the rapidly changing world of AI, how would we build a high school today?
Together with participating schools from across the country, Ednovate will examine how AI can be used thoughtfully and equitably to support learning, strengthen teaching and prepare students for a future in which understanding how to work with emerging technology will be increasingly important.
This work is not simply about adopting new tools. It is about ensuring that students are prepared to use technology critically, responsibly, and creatively while preserving the relationships, reflection, and human connection at the center of an excellent education.
Giving Educators a Voice in Education Technology
Through the American Group of Innovative Learning Environments (AGILE) Network, Ednovate educators are helping shape the technology that may eventually enter classrooms across the country.
Led by the nonprofit research organization Leanlab Education, the AGILE Network connects schools and educators with emerging education technology companies. Through co-design sessions, pilots, and research studies, educators provide direct feedback to product founders and engineers about the challenges students and teachers experience every day.
Ednovate team members have participated in several of these collaborative design opportunities, most recently during ISTE+ASCD, where Kevin Nham and Lanira Murphy participated in co-design sessions with Snorkl and Thinkverse. These sessions give educators an opportunity to help developers create products that are practical, engaging, research-based, and responsive to the needs of real classrooms.
Rather than waiting for a finished product to be introduced to schools, Ednovate educators are part of the development process. This ensures that the perspectives of students and teachers inform educational technology from the beginning.
Turning National Learning Into Local Opportunity
Each of these partnerships is different, but they share a common purpose: bringing people together to build better learning experiences for young people.
They also reflect Ednovate’s belief that innovation works best when it is collaborative. Our educators benefit from access to national research, professional learning, and peers who are confronting similar challenges. At the same time, Ednovate contributes the expertise of staff members who know what it takes to help students become college-ready, career-ready, and prepared to lead.
Most importantly, the learning does not remain at a conference, convening, or co-design session. Ednovate team members bring new ideas home, test them thoughtfully, and consider how they can create meaningful opportunities for the students and communities we serve.
By learning together and leading alongside innovative partners, Ednovate is helping shape what comes next not only for our own schools but for the future of high school education.
