Three school districts use collaboration for innovative education solutions

Physical and mental health, economic status, and location are among the factors that affect student learning in schools across the United States. District leaders often face challenges in supporting students while managing limited resources. Some districts are addressing these issues by working together to share knowledge and develop new strategies.

Digital Promise’s League of Innovative Schools offers a platform for district leaders to connect, exchange ideas, and apply research-based solutions. This collaborative approach has led to several initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes.

In Allentown School District, Pennsylvania, about 20 percent of students are English learners. Melissa Smith, executive director of learning and teaching for the district, noted the complexity of teaching English language learners (ELLs) to read due to challenges such as irregular sounds and unfamiliar grammar. Teachers have limited time for individualized support.

To address these needs, Smith joined Digital Promise’s U-GAIN Reading Center leadership cohort. The center focuses on how artificial intelligence can support literacy for multilingual learners. “With the science of reading, the primary focus has been on making sure that we are understanding and using the research to support our reading instruction,” Smith said. “So when we look at it from an English learner lens, it's not only ‘do we have the structured literacy research,’ but we’re also looking for best practice in English learner instruction.”

Smith learned through collaboration how dialect differences can influence literacy development: “Dialect can play a critical role if it’s not the dialect that a student is used to.” As a result, Allentown now uses AI-supported strategies tailored to individual student needs.

“Leaders need opportunities to continue to learn and grow in a manner that helps them understand the latest research as well as its relevance to their work,” added Smith.

Quakertown Community School District Superintendent Matthew Friedman worked with Digital Promise to create a comprehensive K-5 computational thinking pathway using Digital Promise’s toolkit. The program aligns content with state standards and builds teacher capacity through summer institutes. It is expanding into grade six with plans for middle school programming.

“The opportunities to collaborate are not just a one-size-fits-all approach,” Friedman said. “We’re listening and learning from other districts to build something to meet our specific needs.”

By collaborating with other districts, Quakertown adopted technology-enabled strategies informed by research that fit its local context.

Lynwood Unified School District in California faced high rates of chronic absenteeism during and after the pandemic—at one point reaching 40 percent—with more than 20 percent of students missing over 10 days each year due in part to environmental challenges like wildfire ash and flooding.

“We want to keep our students and families hopeful,” said Dr. Maribel Martinez, assistant superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District.

In 2024, Lynwood Unified joined a national group of districts examining causes of chronic absenteeism and developing adaptive responses. Conversations with peers from other regions highlighted how environmental factors impact attendance differently across communities. Inspired by these exchanges, Lynwood began working with city officials on drainage improvements and considered temporary bus routes during storms.

Friedman emphasized Digital Promise’s role: “Digital Promise is a national thought leader that has so much expertise…and they’re not only a collaborator to build things out, but also a connector that connects people, schools and districts to share different ideas.”

Districts nationwide continue facing changing demographics, technology demands, staffing shortages, and funding constraints but remain focused on building supportive school cultures for student success beyond graduation. Collaborative efforts help develop solutions that benefit all students.