The Transformation Gap: Why Motivated District Leaders Pursue Incremental Change
School districts are struggling to create both equitable and fundamentally different outcomes for young people through incremental improvements. The alternative is transformational systems change, when school districts redefine their purpose and operations through a coherent strategy to ensure every school is a high-quality, empowering place for all students to thriveâbut this remains rare. With support […]
A Mile Wide, an Inch Deep: The State of Civic Learning in U.S. School Districts
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, civic learning is having a momentâbut new data suggest that more support is needed to move students from knowing the basics to participating in civics learning and practice within their communities. This brief is the first in a three-part series from the American School District Panel (ASDP), […]
Early Adopter Districts and AI: Strategic Pathways, System Strain, and the Conditions for Amplifying Transformation
School districts are making consequential AI decisions largely on their ownâpurchasing tools, training teachers, setting policies for student use, and trying to determine what responsible and effective adoption looks like. Without clear federal guidance or a reliable roadmap, what are the most advanced districts learning, and what does it reveal about what the field needs […]
Getting Beyond the Lightbulb Stage: Why AI Is Not Yet Transforming Education
New AI tools are entering the ed tech market every day. But how are they actually playing out in schools and classrooms? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with more than 50 stakeholders across ed tech, philanthropy, policy, teaching, and advocacy, this brief identifies the gaps between what AI developers are building and what students, teachers, and […]
The Reckoning: Addressing Oakland’s Literacy Crisis
Oakland Unified School District has spent the past five years trying to address a severe literacy crisisâone where most Black and Latine students were not reading at grade level. In 2020, The Oakland REACH and OUSD families pushed the district to adopt evidence-based reading instruction and commit to improving how literacy is taught across schools. […]
Navigating the Math Wars: A Practical Guide to the Divides and Debates Influencing Math Instruction
Reimagining Learning for the Age of AI: Visions from CRPE’s Think Forward Fellows
Will AI reinforce existing models of schooling, or will it help us build learning environments that center purpose, relationships, and real-world contributions? This is the question that our inaugural cohort of Think Forward AI Fellows explore in this compendium. Conversations about AI often center on details like tools and workflows rather than major concerns like ends […]
States and AI: An Early Look at How Early Adopters Are Approaching AI in Education
As AI use expands in schools, states are beginning to define their roleâoften without clear federal direction. What actions are they taking, and how are they approaching AI integration in Kâ12 education? CRPEâs new State AI Early Adopter Database compiles publicly available information on AI-related actions across 20 early adopter states in 2024 and 2025, including guidance, […]
Think Forward: Building a Coherent Approach to AI in Education
In November 2025, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) convened a diverse group of policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and technology experts for the Think Forward: Learning with AI Forum in New Mexico. At a moment when rapid advances in artificial intelligence are colliding with longstanding inequities and structural challenges in Kâ12 education, […]
Virtual 1:1 Literacy Tutoring in Oakland Unified School District: Implementation and Effectiveness of a Pilot at Scale
In 2024â25, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) launched a districtwide pilot of virtual, high-dosage, 1:1 literacy tutoring in partnership with three providers: Hoot, Ignite Reading, and OpenLiteracy. This initiative aimed to address early reading gaps, particularly in phonics, for Kâ2 students who were below grade level. Key Findings High implementation fidelity: Over 80% of tutored […]