Empower Schools created The Texas Partnerships Toolkit, bringing together statewide data, local examples, and practical tools to help communities understand how Texas Partnerships work, what they are accomplishing, and what high-quality implementation can look like.

Empower Schools CEO and Partner Alyssa Morton planned and moderated this NewSchools Summit 2026 conversation with leaders from NYC Public Schools, Aldine ISD, and Sumner County Public Schools. The panel explores career-connected learning, AI, student voice, philanthropy, facilities, and the leadership required to scale innovation across districts.

In Leadership as a Practice, Empower Schools and Teacher-Powered Schools examine how Denver Green School-Northfield uses distributed leadership, teacher agency, and Innovation Zone flexibility to create shared accountability. The case study highlights how the Luminary Learning Network supports collaborative decision-making, school-level autonomy, and continuous improvement.

In Raising the Bar, Empower Schools and Teacher-Powered Schools examine how Cold Spring School in Indianapolis uses Innovation Network School flexibility to strengthen instructional culture and student outcomes. The case study explores how strategic hiring, professional learning communities, budget flexibility, and teacher-led accountability support a STEM and environmental science model.

In Revolutionary Collaboration, Empower Schools and Teacher-Powered Schools examine how the Washtenaw Educational Options Consortium in Ypsilanti, Michigan uses shared leadership, teacher-powered practices, and regional collaboration to expand public school options. The case study highlights how consortium governance, flexible scheduling, and educator decision-making support student-centered learning across districts.

In Flexibility and Sustainability, Empower Schools and Teacher-Powered Schools examine how Duggan Academy in Springfield, Massachusetts reimagined teacher leadership through the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership. The case study explores how school-level flexibility, shared decision-making, and a Teacher Leadership Team helped formalize educator voice and sustain school improvement.

Empower Schools’ 2024-25 Annual Report shares progress, partnerships, and impact from a year of work with communities, school systems, policymakers, and partners. As Empower’s annual report highlights work across Innovation Schools, Rural Collaboratives, and Early College and Career Pathways..

Empower Schools’ report on Innovation School policy examines how state laws can create enabling conditions for school-level innovation. The report analyzes policy design, school autonomy, educator empowerment, accountability, and sustainability, with recommendations for states seeking to support high-quality, durable Innovation Schools.

Empower Schools Partner Matt Matera speaks with educators from the Leadership Academy Network about how an SB 1882 partnership between Fort Worth ISD and Texas Wesleyan University supports teacher retention, professional growth, instructional flexibility, and stronger student outcomes.

Pathways to College and Career outlines a statewide collaboration model for expanding access to college and career pathways across Colorado. The report focuses on the Homegrown Talent Coalition, shared data, policy alignment, pathway implementation, and the conditions needed to help more students earn credentials, college credit, and work-based learning.

Created and published by the Texas Education Agency in partnership with Empower Schools, this guide walks Texas districts through assessing community need, selecting a pre-K partnership structure, combining funding sources, authorizing an operating partner, and meeting staffing, enrollment, and regulatory requirements.

In Texas Partnerships with the Leadership Academy Network, Empower Schools examines how Fort Worth ISD and Texas Wesleyan University used a Texas Partnership under SB 1882 to sustain and strengthen the Leadership Academy Network. The case study highlights school-level autonomy, data-driven instruction, teacher development, extended learning time, and community-based supports.

Ten Years of Empowerment is Empower Schools’ retrospective magazine celebrating a decade of work with communities across the country. The resource shares Empower’s story, timeline, partnerships, and evolution as an organization supporting school system innovation, policy change, and expanded student opportunity.

The Third Way is a guide to implementing Innovation Schools and creating autonomous, accountable district schools. The resource explains how districts can give schools real flexibility over staffing, budget, curriculum, and operations while maintaining public accountability and creating conditions for innovation.

Autonomous District Schools examines how U.S. school districts can create autonomous district schools that provide flexibility, accountability, and innovation at scale. The report explores how autonomous district school models differ from traditional district and charter schools and what districts should consider when designing them.

Denver’s Luminary Learning Network examines how a group of Denver public school leaders pursued greater autonomy over decision-making, finances, and operations for Innovation Schools. The case study highlights governance, district partnership, and the conditions that supported a new approach to school-level flexibility.

From Innovation Schools to an Innovation Zone in Denver, Colorado explores the design features of Innovation Zones and the early development of Denver’s model. The resource highlights how school-level autonomy, governance, and partnership structures can help protect innovation inside public school systems.

The “City of Firsts” Charts a New Path on Turnaround examines the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership as a turnaround strategy and governance model in Springfield, Massachusetts. The resource explores how SEZP created a new path for school improvement through autonomy, accountability, and partnership.