Crossing Into the Future
SchoolCEO's Marie Kressin gives her first-hand account of the 2025 League of Innovative Schools Spring Convening.
The League of Innovative Schools is a national network of districts focused on implementing—and sharing—innovative practices. It’s housed under the umbrella of Digital Promise, a nonprofit that develops research-backed solutions for improving learning for all students. If Digital Promise is the brain, then the League of Innovative Schools is a set of arms—a practitioner network meant to turn theory into action. And a key benefit of being selected as a member of the League of Innovative Schools is the opportunity to visit and learn from other schools in the league.
By Thursday evening, I’d been in Pittsburgh for five days. I’d visited school districts across western Pennsylvania, attended learning sessions led by school leaders from around the country and enjoyed many conversations about what innovation actually means. I was exhausted and invigorated with only a few hours of free time left before my flight home. So, on my last evening in the city, I walked 20 minutes and paid five dollars (cash only) for a two-minute ride on the Duquesne Incline.
The incline is a point of pride in Pittsburgh—147 years old and offering a perfect view of the convergence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. Settling down near one of the back windows, I waited for the ascent. Our climb was slow—slow enough that I was able to count every bridge visible from downtown Pittsburgh: 20 bridges in all.
My view from the Duquesne Incline put firmly into perspective a request made by Jillian Doggett, the director of the League of Innovative Schools, during the Spring Convening’s opening ceremony: “Don’t let the connections you make here stay here.” Now, as I counted Pittsburgh’s bridges, I understood well what she meant. We had all come together for the convening, but coming to the convening wasn’t the point. We were here to act as bridges, to carry what we’d learned and seen back to our teams.
School Site Visits
The League hosts convenings twice yearly in different locations, and if you ask me, the hallmark of any League convening is the opportunity to visit nearby member districts in person. There are 13 league districts surrounding Pittsburgh, and all attendees had the opportunity to visit up to four. I had the absolute pleasure of visiting South Fayette Township, Avonworth, California Area and Elizabeth Forward. (And I would have happily visited every single other district if I’d only had the time.)
Every district I visited absolutely pulled out the stops—marching bands and cheerleaders at the front entrances, elementary students handing out gifts made by CTE students, fresh iced lattes prepared by high schoolers, plus so much more. I quickly realized that our visit was just as exciting for our hosts as it was for us—because this visit was an opportunity to show off the hard work of staff and students alike. They wanted us in their schools; they wanted us to see how much good is happening behind closed doors.
At South Fayette Township, I saw a solar-powered hydroponic farm housed inside a repurposed freight container. I listened to three young women talk about becoming certified remote pilots;one of them hovered a drone over our heads while she shared details about the certification process. And I stood inside “the CAVERN,” an extended reality space built in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University.
At Avonworth Public Schools, I asked a young man operating a flight simulator if he could show me how to land, only to learn that he’d have to ask permission from the young woman across the room who was acting as air traffic control. I had an interesting conversation about the environmental impacts of AI with a member of the district’s “AI & Human Flourishing” course.” And I attended a class where students were planning a community 5K.
At California Area School District, I had tea made with herbs grown by students and honey from the district’s hives. I held a tiny lamb in a kindergarten class, visited an authentic Finnish-style Yurt, met two friendly goats and learned about the cafeteria’s initiative to go plastic-free. At Elizabeth Forward School District, I was offered free eggs from the district’s chickens, watched students complete a math lesson using VR headsets and was astonished by a cookie table (apparently a Pittsburgh tradition!) that held plates and plates of homecooked treats made in the kitchen of a school community member.
This barely scratches the surface of all the amazing things I saw on my site visits. But there’s something I want to make abundantly clear: Never once did I see innovation for innovation’s sake. If anything, what I saw challenged my preconceived notions about what innovation means, where it can happen and who it can benefit.
What is innovation?
“I think people have this idea that innovation means adopting technologies at a very fast pace, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Doggett says. Not only did I myself have that misconception, but I also expected the districts I visited to be exclusively in well-resourced, mostly suburban locations. That’s what I expected innovation to look like: financial and social capital. I was wrong.
“We had no money,” says Dr. Laura Jacob, California Area School District’s superintendent. “When I came into the district, we only had $100,000 in our fund balance.” After visiting , I asked Jacob about the therapy dogs who greeted us upon arrival—only to discover that before the dogs, the district had therapy lambs. “I was so nervous about keeping us financially stable. We didn’t have the money for therapy dogs, but I had lambs at home,” Jacob says. “I think the fun part of innovation, especially as a poor school, is that we’re always coming up with creative ways to solve our problems when we don’t have the money.”
For a small, rural district like California Area Schools, innovation has meant finding ways to make innovation work in their unique circumstances. “We’re trying to show that innovation doesn’t necessarily equate to technology,” Jacob says. For example, when the district implemented a four-day instructional week, that decision didn’t require any additional materials or staff. “That’s the key. Innovation just means creative approaches to problem-solving,” says Dr. Jacob, “And I like the challenge. I like finding ways to apply innovative ideas in our context.”
So, like I said, I was wrong. Innovation is not just tech, and it’s not just for wealthy suburban communities. Innovation is for everyone because we must find a way to provide creative opportunities for all students. “Our expectation isn’t that you’re the highest-performing district in your state or that you’re regularly making headlines,” Doggett says. “Our expectation is that you are forward-thinking, that you are open minded, that you are in pursuit of excellence for your district and that you’re making strides to go against the status quo rather than complacently accepting traditional models of education.”
“I have less than a thousand kids,” Jacob says. “I’m rural. I’m poor. I was a first-year superintendent. I had every hesitation in my head, but I gave it a shot. What I’ve found is that the league appreciates me for who I am and where I am in my experience as a superintendent. They’ve only helped me to grow.”
The Spirit of Collaboration
If you’re thinking about applying to be a member of the League of Innovative Schools, then there is one thing you should know: While innovation may be for everyone, the league is selective about the applicants they accept. “The most important thing we look for in a district is their leader’s willingness to share, to collaborate,” Doggett says. “We tell them that this has to be a reciprocal relationship. We want our applicants to benefit from the knowledge, expertise and lived experiences of other members, but we also expect this to be mutually beneficial—where they, in turn, share their experiences and expertise.” In other words, the league has high expectations. Members must be engaged and active—and have a collaborative spirit.
Considering all the great work I saw at the schools I visited, I wouldn’t have been surprised—or even bothered—if their staff had come across as boastful. After all, they all had a lot to brag about. But never once did I get the impression that someone was saying to me: Hey, look at what we’ve done! Instead, it felt like everyone was saying: Hey, look at what we could all do! Let me be clear: Every school I visited had a strong sense of pride. But it wasn’t pride in a silo. Pride in isolation becomes a brag. Pride coupled with collaboration becomes hope.
“None of us have the universal right way of doing things for kids,” Dr. Jacob says. “I truly believe the best educators and the best administrators are the ones that invest in a shared community so that they can give and take ideas in a non-competitive way and make things happen in their unique contexts.” And that’s exactly why the League Convening also offered scheduled, intentional opportunities for educators to connect with and learn from one another. In fact, one entire day of the convening was devoted to a robust line-up of sessions led by school leaders.
The offered sessions covered everything from innovative spaces to how inclusive innovation can help tackle chronic absenteeism. I heard one school leader speak on how his district utilized an abandoned hospital, another speak on the development of cybersecurity classes and shifting mindsets around AI, and still another share how his district communicates about the fiscal responsibility inherent to innovation. The message was clear: Being a member of the League isn’t about showing off. It’s about showing up—showing up for all students in all contexts, as well as showing up for other educators.
“I think in education, there’s a tendency—especially right now, with teacher recruitment and retention issues and funding issues—for districts to be competitive with one another,” Doggett says. “I hope that you found during your week with our members that that’s not the case within the League.” No, with the League, I found something entirely different: collaboration and joy.
The Spirit of Joy
I’m finishing this article in late April of 2025. Right now, there’s a lot to be worried about—in education and beyond. That’s why I’ve lately been ending my interviews with this question: “Education is a hard field to be in right now. What’s kept you in the work?” The answers I often receive to this question likely won’t surprise you. Educators do what they do because they love kids. I would say, though, that there’s another key ingredient—something I saw in every school I visited, something I felt in every conversation I had at the convening, something the League was intentional about including throughout the entire convening: joy.
Yes, during the League of Innovative Schools Spring Convening, I listened to tough conversations about budgeting considerations. I heard thoughtful questions about inclusivity and access to resources. I sensed a general and pervasive uncertainty about what’s to come. But I also went on a scavenger hunt in the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. I took a 300 million-mile journey to Mars at an exhibit in the Carnegie Science Center. I enjoyed three different Pittsburgh-style cookie tables.
But my favorite moment of the entire trip came right at the beginning of the week—just after Jillian Doggett had challenged us to make lasting connections with one another. Yes, I think my favorite moment was when we all took a historic sightseeing boat known as the Gateway Clipper all the way down the Monongahela river and over into the Allegheny. On that very first night of the convening, I stood on the open deck as we passed under bridge after bridge on our way to listen to an orchestra and choir ensemble composed of students from all 13 league districts in the area. Because that’s what the convening is about: Collaborating to provide unique opportunities to all students—and having a good time while doing it.
“We need people to see and believe that amazing things are happening,” Doggett says. “It’s not just doom and gloom headlines. There are serious issues at play, and I don’t want to belittle those. But what I’m saying is there are amazing leaders out there. There are incredible school districts. There are caring, passionate, capable and dedicated teachers. There are beautiful, wonderful children. We have to find a way to give people inspiration and rejuvenation. And I know that when I leave the convening, I feel a lot more hopeful.”
So as we passed under bridge after bridge on the Gateway Clipper that first night of the convening, I thought about what Doggett said in her open remarks. Then, again, on the last night of the convening, as I rode the Duquesne Incline, counting more than 20 bridges, I thought once more about what she said: “Don’t let the connections you make here, stay here.” At first, I’d thought she was encouraging us to take ideas back to our teams. Now, I realize that’s only half of it. We must also allow our connections to each other to form a different kind of bridge, one that might carry us from here into the future, a future that feels hopeful and exciting.