CoSN2026: Exploring the Trends Driving Innovation in K–12 Education

According to Lisa Gustinelli, director of instructional technology and IT administrator for Saint Vincent Ferrer School in Florida, no matter the employee, there are four key elements to consider: purpose, growth, flexibility and opportunity. Framing schools as mission-driven innovation hubs gives teachers and technology staff a reason to come to work every day, she said. Professional development, flexible schedules and leadership opportunities can also be fulfilling.

“When people feel like they’re invested in the place where they work, they want to stay there,” she said. “They feel like they have a voice and that they can contribute to that mission-driven school. They want to be there.”

Jennifer Williams, director of instructional technology and media services for Newton County Schools in Georgia, said allowing staff to take ownership of their program areas and encouraging growth can help them feel valued.

The second hurdle is ensuring cybersecurity and safety online, which requires balancing security with usability for students and staff. Ed McKaveney, director of technology for Hampton Township School District in Pennsylvania, said in his district, education goes a long way toward ensuring that systems stay secure. Organizations such as Common Sense Media and the local educational service agency help ensure students and staff are properly trained on appropriate use and software is vetted for privacy agreements.

DISCOVER: K–12 schools need a clear roadmap for effective cybersecurity.

“Sometimes, it also means saying no to things, especially as new tools evolve,” he said.

This education extends to the report’s third hurdle: critical media literacy. McKaveney said his district is investing in workshops for staff and teachers on artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, helping them to identify misinformation. Teachers are passing what they’re learning on to students.

“If you don’t use some of the tools and you don’t get exposure to them, you don’t know what capabilities they have to create those types of things,” he said. “It just evolves, and it’s hard to deal with, but we’re trying as best we can.”

Accelerators Focus on Leadership and Learning

The next phase of the report, the accelerators, outlines broad trends that fuel and accelerate the pace of innovation. The first accelerator is building the human capacity of leaders, which at Gustinelli’s district happens in professional learning communities. Rather than allowing PLCs to drift into complaint sessions or logistics meetings, her district has deliberately repositioned them as true professional learning spaces by selecting and training teacher leaders to facilitate with purpose.

“By just shifting the mindset of how we’re doing things when teachers are meeting and in the small groups, that’s really helped,” she said.

LEARN MORE: Training is key to AI adoption success.

The second accelerator is changing attitudes toward demonstrating learning. McKaveney’s district has shaped learning around a Portrait of a Learner profile (in his district’s case, Portrait of a Talbot, the district’s mascot), which emphasizes traits such as perseverance, empathy and a learner’s mindset.

At Gustinelli’s district, students take an active role in assessments and curriculum. Students can choose their own electives, and teachers can opt to teach electives on topics they’re passionate about, even if they’re outside of their typical area of focus.

“It's buy-in for the teachers, but it also allows students to choose something that they know, that they’re interested in and that they can get better at,” she said. “That’s one of the ways that we can get them involved, and then when they are involved, it becomes project-based learning, where they can choose how to prove that they know the subject.”

This ties into the third accelerator, learner agency, which Williams said was influenced by her district’s move to one-to-one devices during the pandemic.

“We had to trust that they were going to use these devices for good,” she said. “We had to make sure that they shifted from being consumers to creators so they could create anytime, anywhere. They got to use all the content they wanted, anytime they wanted, and they got to use multiple formats to engage and make learning personalized.” This meant giving up some control to allow students to learn on their own, outside of a traditional classroom setting, she said.

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Tech Enablers Include AI, Data and Online Safety Tools

Tech enablers are tools that unlock new ways of learning, help schools overcome obstacles and position them to capitalize on driving forces for change. Generative AI is first on the list, and for Williams, her district frames it as a capability, not just a tool.

“We’re focusing on how people think, how they create, how they make decisions with it, not just how they use it,” she said.

After selecting a generative AI platform, Newton County Schools teachers and district staff underwent a year of professional development before it was rolled out to students.

They also included parents in this training. Parents get access to bimonthly podcasts and webinars that offer training and development on how to use AI and information on how the district is using AI in the classroom with students.

“We want to eliminate the fear and the questions and give them a basic understanding and know that we’re doing everything that’s safe,” Williams said. “We’re ultimately preparing our classrooms to be where students are going to use AI as a thinking partner, not just as a shortcut, so training teachers, staff and parents had to come first.”

UP NEXT: Leander ISD prioritizes professional development for technology adoption.

Data and information visualization are also seen as tech enablers, making information clear and actionable. According to Gustinelli, clear data that everyone understands and can access ultimately makes learning more equitable.

“This really levels the playing field,” she said. “The student knows where their weaknesses and strengths are, the parents know, the teacher knows and the school knows. Then, all together, they can personalize that learning. It makes us less focused on standardized tests because we see those numbers visually all throughout the school year.”

Tools for privacy and safety online are also pushing change, helping districts overcome cybersecurity safety and media literacy hurdles. These privacy tools not only keep districts and students safe, they also build trust, Williams said, but only when it’s framed as protection and not control.

“There’s a difference between, ‘We’re watching you,’ and, ‘We’re creating a safe environment where everyone knows and understands why systems are in place,’” she said. “The ‘why’ is so important.”

Professional development for staff and teachers and clear communication to students and families gives everyone a better understanding of how these tools work and what they’re monitoring.

“They know that we care about their safety,” she said. “That’s the most important thing. Out of all of the things I do, the No. 1 thing I do is protect students, making sure that they feel safe.”

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