R-PEP 101 is Empower Schools’ practical guide to Rural Pathway Excellence Partnerships, a Texas model that helps rural districts work together to expand college and career pathways. The guide explains how policy, funding, higher education partnerships, and workforce collaboration can support rural students and communities.

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.

This national guide examines six work-based learning programs and the policies, partnerships, staffing, funding, and infrastructure that help career-connected learning succeed. Four of the featured programs are supported by Empower Schools.

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 Fast Tracking Student Success, Empower Schools examines how Rural Alliance Zone-32 in East Central Indiana uses cross-district collaboration, shared career pathways, and employer partnerships to help rural students meet new diploma seal requirements. The case study highlights work-based learning, credentials of value, student-run enterprises, and regional pathway design.

In Discover FMI, Empower Schools examines how the Fremont Multi-District Initiative in Colorado expands rural student access to career pathways, industry certifications, and on-the-job training. The case study highlights how rural districts can collaborate across communities to create more equitable opportunities tied to high-wage, high-demand careers.

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’ Apprenticeship and Rural Colorado report explores how youth apprenticeship can expand college and career pathways, strengthen local talent pipelines, and support economic development in rural communities. The report highlights apprenticeship models, employer roles, healthcare pathways, and the role Rural Collaboratives can play as regional intermediaries.

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.

State lawmakers and rural education leaders examine how shared career pathways, sustainable funding, and cross-district collaboration can expand opportunity for rural students.

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.

This SXSW EDU panel brings together rural education leaders from Texas, Colorado, and Indiana. They share how Rural Collaboratives help districts pool resources, expand college and career pathways, coordinate with employers and higher education, and preserve opportunity within rural communities.