From Vision to Impact: How the EdLeader Promise Network Is Advancing Deeper Learning and AI Strategy

Formed through the integration of two nationally respected leadership communities — EdLeader21 and Learning 2025 — the EdLeader Promise Network brings together district leaders committed to creating learning experiences that are rigorous, human-centered, and future-focused.

While the network's mission is far broader than AI, artificial intelligence has become one of the most urgent and complex opportunities facing district leaders. In response, the network convened a yearlong, nationwide collaborative of instructional leaders, teachers, technology coaches, and superintendents to design the AI Strategy Toolkit. This flexible, living resource helps districts translate emerging technologies into meaningful learning experiences aligned to their mission and Portrait of a Graduate goals. The work engaged districts across 19 states and Brazil.

At the AASA AI Summit last November, our team shared one part of this Toolkit with attendees—the AI for Deeper Learning Design section—which illustrates how AI can serve as a planning partner for educators designing authentic tasks, deeper conceptual understanding, and student agency. Attendees engaged with scenarios that mirrored real school contexts, such as using AI to support purposeful student-engaged assessment or connecting strategic plans directly to daily instruction. District stories from Eden Prairie’s disciplinary literacy bot and Durango’s teacher- and student-facing AI workflows anchored the session in practical examples from the field.

Though this AI-focused work is important, it represents only one aspect of what the EdLeader Promise Network provides. Each year, members gather in person at a national convening to learn from district exemplars, share artifacts of practice, and explore innovative approaches to deeper learning. Between convenings, members participate in collaborative working groups, peer networks, and consulting structures that allow districts to problem-solve together, exchange models, and accelerate progress on shared priorities.

This combination of national collaboration, authentic learning design, and concrete implementation support is central to the Network’s purpose: helping district teams turn their learner profiles and strategic commitments into classroom practice that strengthens the 4C’s, cultivates student independence, and prepares all learners for a rapidly changing world.

The EdLeader Promise Network blends national collaboration with local action, helping districts move from ideas to implementation with confidence.

The AI Strategy Toolkit is available in full to Network members and is one entry point into this broader mission. Its six sections span vision-setting, community engagement, deeper learning design, student-engaged assessment, operational efficiency, and policy development, offering reflective questions, tools, and artifacts contributed directly by member districts.

As AI continues to evolve, thoughtful leadership—not technology—will determine its impact. The EdLeader Promise Network provides the professional community, shared expertise, and practical tools district teams need to navigate this moment with clarity and purpose.