LEAP Innovations

05/11/2026

🌟 NEXT WEEK: Redefine What Future-Ready Looks Like

Hosted by MagicSchool & LEAP Innovations, this expert panel explores how emerging technologies can better support students while building the skills, agency, and mindsets needed to thrive and how to embed those future-ready competencies into your learner portrait!

📆 Thursday, May 21st
⏰ 12pm CT

🎟️ Register Now: https://my.demio.com/ref/cK7Yb9YheaT9JkqL

05/08/2026

is coming to a close, but our appreciation of teachers never ends. To all educators across our LEAP networks and around the world: We Celebrate You!

👏 Thank you for your unwavering commitment to students, for leading with heart, and for continuing to reimagine what teaching and learning can look like.

👏 Our team is constantly inspired by the ways you create student-centered experiences that fuel engagement, joy, belonging, creativity, and agency for young people every single day.

👏 Your willingness to innovate, design, take risks, and continuously evolve learning experiences matters deeply. Education transformation only happens because of educators like you who show up every day believing students deserve meaningful, personalized, and empowering learning environments that drive outcomes and excellence.

All of us at LEAP are grateful to partner alongside so many amazing educators who continue to push the boundaries of what is possible for schools and students. Thank you for all that you do, for all that you give, and for the impact you make that extends far beyond the classroom.

👏 We appreciate you this week and every week! 👏

05/07/2026

We're getting serious about the summer math slide and we invite you to join LEAP’s no-cost virtual session next week!

If you've ever spent the first weeks of fall re-teaching content from the previous spring, this conversation is for you.

📅 May 19 | 1 PM CT | Free virtual session
🔗 Register: https://my.demio.com/ref/omE4ziPWGIOQzIiH

Here's what we'll dig into:
→ What the summer slide really costs students — and how long recovery takes
→ Practical strategies for ending the year strong and starting the fall with momentum
→ Innovative tools that identify learning gaps and deliver personalized, adaptive training for every student
→ How to partner with KAITLab for a summer pilot or fall rollout

Dr. Joe Davis, Kim Bolz-Andolshek, and Beau Scott of KAITLab bring 30 years of math education expertise to the table. Take a seat at the table with us!

04/29/2026

To all our Chicagoland friends! We invite you to apply now for next year's Chicago-area Pilot Network cohort.

💫 Get support to make progress on your CIWP and School Improvement Plans.
💫 Design, take action, and accelerate implementation of your own student-centered learning goals in this research and practice-based professional learning experience.
💫 Discover innovative methods and practical tools to adapt instructional practices to the needs, interests, and strengths of each learner.
💫 Lead innovation, integrate AI, and strengthen student engagement as you design and refine your approach to personalized learning.

Find out if LEAP's Pilot Network is right for your school and submit an application by May 29 to receive priority consideration for scholarship funds.

Lead Change & Pilot Possibilities with LEAP Pilot Network!
https://www.leapinnovations.org/pilot-network

04/22/2026

Last week in support of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) annual conference, LEAP Innovations hosted site visits to two amazing partner schools local to the conference home city of Chicago: Distinctive Schools' CICS West Belden and Intrinsic Schools!

Participating CoSN conference attendees got to see personalized learning in action, talk to exceptional students and teachers, and explore ways to provide time and space for teacher co-design!

👏 Thanks to LEAP's Stephanie Cardella for leading this experience! Thanks to the attendees who hailed from Illinois, Washington, Texas as well as New Zealand and China, and more for engaging with so much energy, curiosity, wonder, and joy! 👏 Many thanks to our hosts at West Belden and Intrinsic. 👏 We loved this collaboration with CoSN and applaud their commitment to grounding a conference experience in what's actually happening in schools, through site visits like this.👏

🌟This is how innovative, equitable, student-centered learning grows! 🌟

Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Distinctive Schools Intrinsic Schools CICS West Belden

04/20/2026

The application is now open for next year's 💫Chicagoland-area Pilot Network Cohort!
🌟 See how you can engage a small team in our guided design cycles to address the opportunity of practice YOU define and make progress on your CIWP and SIP.
🌟 Scholarship priority will be given to applications received by May 29.
🌟 Learn more today so you can submit your application right away!

The Pilot Network is a cohort-based program that empowers forward-thinking school teams to design, pilot and scale innovative approaches to sustainable school improvement and student-centered learning. School teams and educators design and refine their approach to personalized learning, discovering

04/16/2026

Next week we're getting honest about how AI and emerging technologies are affecting High School learning.

If you're a teacher, counselor, or education leader trying to make sense of the shift, this virtual conversation is for you.

📅 April 22 | 2pm ET/1pm CT/11am PT
🔗 Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MwkOkJLMQ6CWgE_jopyvIg

Here's what we'll dig into:
→ How the school day is being restructured around AI
→ The student mental health crisis and what educators can actually do about it
→ What educators might do with the time that smarter tools give back

Speakers: Maria Andersen (Socrait) + Sean Wheelock (InnerPeak AI)
Facilitated by LEAP Innovations

👉Save your seat! Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MwkOkJLMQ6CWgE_jopyvIg

04/15/2026

🌟 High schools are navigating a lot right now, from evolving student needs to the rapid introduction of AI in classrooms.

At LEAP Innovations, we’re creating space for honest, practical conversations about what this shift means for educators and how we can better support both students and staff.

Join us next Wednesday for a one-hour virtual fireside chat: High School Reimagined: Rethinking Time, Tech, and Transformation

This session brings together Edtech leaders and practitioners to share real examples of how high schools are using technology to support teaching, learning, and student well-being—without losing the human connections that matter most.

You’ll hear from:
🔹 Maria Andersen (Co-founder, Socrait) on how voice-powered tools can help teachers save time and better understand student learning in real time
🔹 Sean Wheelock (Founder, InnerPeak AI) on approaches to supporting student mental health with AI in ways that complement, not replace, educators

Facilitated by Carlos Beato and Sue Holmes of LEAP Innovations, we’ll explore:
✔️ How AI is showing up in the high school day
✔️ Where technology can meaningfully reduce educator workload
✔️ How schools can guide healthy AI use for students
✔️ Practical ideas for rethinking time and support systems

📅 April 22, 2026
🕑 2PM ET | 1PM CT | 11AM PT

👉 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MwkOkJLMQ6CWgE_jopyvIg

If you’re a high school educator, counselor, or leader, we hope you’ll join us as we learn together and share what’s working.

03/04/2026

🎉 Kudos to the school teams participating in Virtual Pilot Network which launched earlier this week with school leaders!

The Pilot Network is a cohort-based program that empowers forward-thinking school teams to design, pilot and scale innovative approaches to sustainable school improvement and student-centered learning. Throughout the program, school teams and educators design and refine their approach to personalized learning, discovering the right tools and methods for adapting to the needs, interests and strengths of each of their learners.

We can't wait to see what the school teams of Pilot Network VIRTUAL Cohort 11 accomplish in their pilots and design cycles!

Learn More: https://www.leapinnovations.org/pilot-network

03/04/2026

🌟 Measuring What Matters: How Complementary Growth Indicators Can Transform K-12 Education

Test scores alone don’t tell the whole story, and schools need complementary measures to identify opportunities for growth — even when achievement levels appear strong on the surface.

Our aligned, validated LEAP Learner Engagement Survey provides real-time data on the classroom learning experience to support professional learning, coaching and innovation so schools can actively build deeper engagement and foster student success. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gjuF_prY or see below about how real-time student experience data is an essential complement to test scores and other traditional measures.

Thank you to America Forward for featuring LEAP. Read more here: https://americaforward.medium.com/measuring-what-matters-how-complementary-growth-indicators-can-transform-k-12-education-dd0f43a1ef97?postPublishedType=repub

By Jessica Paulsen, President, Innovation & Impact, LEAP Innovations