Cohorts are League learning communities focused on discussing challenges and sharing best practices and resources.
Cohorts are formed and led by members of the League around areas of interests, including but not limited to: topical areas of interest (maker learning, competency-based education, etc.); urbanicity (suburban, urban, rural); and affinity groups (women, leaders of color, etc.).
Our cohorts for 2018–2019 are:

This cohort explores challenges that affect rural districts, share their best practices, and showcase how they have found creative ways to bring innovations to their schools and communities that fit their geographical context and models. Some topics the cohort discussed are connectivity, transportation, and community engagement.
Leaders
- Tim Bobrowski, Owsley County School District
- Tina Bobrowski, Owsley County School District
- Jim Evans, Lee County Public Schools
Webinars
Dealing with Snow days or Other Weather-related School Closures and How to provide Distance Learning for Students | November 6, 2018 | East Noble School Corporation and Owsley County Schools | WATCH NOW
Schools located in areas where the weather can restrict mobility have to be resourceful, creative, and innovative to find ways to ensure students get access to learning, even if they are not physically able to go to school.
Parent and Community Engagement | January 15, 2019 | Lee County Public Schools | WATCH NOW
Being in a small rural community has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of being able to reach out to parents and guardians. Relying on partnerships, ingenuity, and a “we can make it happen” attitude, Lee County hosts several events and programs throughout the year to engage parents in their student’s learning.
Equitable Access and Opportunities | February 5, 2019 | Owsley County Schools | WATCH NOW
With limited resources and declining population sizes, two districts discuss how they work to remove barriers to educational attainment, career readiness, and basic needs like healthcare and nutrition.
Communication for Rural Community Buy-In | March 5, 2019 | Sitka Public Schools | WATCH NOW
Discover how Superintendent Mary Wegner of Sitka Public Schools and her team work to build better internal communication among staff members and external communication to families and communities.
Other Resources

Learner variability is the new norm in classrooms nationwide. Students are more diverse than ever linguistically, economically, and culturally. This explored how to re-think aspects of the education system to address this diversity of learners, including applying the burgeoning field of learning sciences research to best support each student.
Leaders
- Janna Sells, Iredell-Statesville Schools
- Kim Rector, Iredell-Statesville Schools
Webinars
Planning Implementation at the District Level for Learner Variability | November 13, 2018 | Lexington County School District One | WATCH NOW
Lexington County School District One shares how they have implemented a metric called the Academic Support Index district-wide to use data to better understand the needs of their students.
Designing Professional Learning for Teachers to Implement Learner Variability | January 18, 2019 | Vancouver Public Schools | WATCH NOW
Vancouver Public Schools discusses the different types of professional learning to model authentic learning and create opportunities that meet the needs teacher-learner variability
Applying Learner Variability | March 28, 2019 | Iredell-Statesville Schools and Digital Promise
By considering both their strengths and growth areas, participants in this in-person meeting brainstormed and practiced finding strategies that addressed the individual learning needs of the whole child.
Other Resources

Engaging students is important to motivate and inspire their learning and is vital and necessary for deeper learning. This cohort investigated how districts might engage learners as they introduce new technologies, and share new ideas and best practices for engaging all learners.
Leaders
- Todd Keruskin, Elizabeth Forward Public Schools
Webinars
Fabrication Pathways for Maker Learning and Maker Integration in a Primary Classroom and Impact on Attendance | October 16, 2018 | Elizabeth Forward Public Schools and Sitka Public Schools | WATCH NOW
Presenters outlined how maker learning pathways (specifically fabrication) can be created for students and how maker learning impacts student engagement and attendance.
Using Virtual Reality to Share Our History and Enhancing Geospatial Thinking through technology | November 13, 2018 | Vancouver Public Schools and Adams 12 Five Star Schools | WATCH NOW
Presenters outlined the benefits of using virtual reality in the classroom, specifically as it relates to social studies (history) and how to better build students’ geospatial thinking practices by leveraging powerful technologies.
Elementary Math Problem Solving | December 18, 2018 | Bristol Township School District| | WATCH NOW
Presenters shared tools and tips for engaging students in elementary mathematics, as well as a primer on the connections between maker learning and the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice.
Employing the Shark Tank Model for Learning | January 15, 2019 | Vancouver Public Schools and Compton Unified School District | WATCH NOW
Presenters shared how they have incorporated “Shark Tank” styles and structures to their practice.
Pre Engineering Development in Junior High School and Maker/Fabricating (Middle School) | February 19, 2019 | West Valley School District and Bristol Township School District | WATCH NOW
Presenters shared how they empower students to prepare for engineering work, through innovative coursework approaches and courageous decision-making.
Data-Driven Blended Learning and Teacher Assistance Program for Successful Teacher Mentorship | March 19, 2019 | Compton Unified School District and West Valley School District 208| WATCH NOW
Presenters shared their work around the topic of Blended Learning, including professional development strategies and making informed blended learning decisions based on data.

If data is important to student learning, how are we getting the right data into the hands of teachers? The purpose of this group is to explore and understand the processes of how data interoperability and the use of data standards can facilitate access to data in a timely manner.
Leaders
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- Jaruan Dennis – Uinta County School District #1
- Shelby Womack – Stephenville Independent School District
Webinars
Vendor Integration with Assessment API | November 15, 2018
A technical training providing an overview of Ed-Fi, Ed-Fi’s Assessment API, and preparing for vendor integration.
Deployment Configurations and Security/Privacy | December 13, 2018 | WATCH NOW
A technical training discussing Ed-Fi deployment options, understanding the security configurations to ensure privacy and security, and API authentification and authorization.
Assessments API Deep Dive | January 10, 2019 | WATCH NOW
A technical training that discusses the importance of standardizing data and walking through the steps to take existing data and load it into a centralized system.
Discussion: Edtech Connector v2.0 & Steering Committee || Training session: User Acceptance Testing | February 14, 2019 | WATCH NOW
Districts discussed the Edtech Connector and opportunities to use it to catalyze a peer-led community within the League. In breakout rooms, the peer-to-peer discussion continued this line of conversation while the training session focused on quality assurance and user acceptance testing.

Judging a student’s development based on a single test on a single day can present an inaccurate and shallow picture of student learning. The cohort shared best practices around supplementing summative assessments by developing alternative methods that get to a deeper, better understanding of students work grounded in evidence of learning.
Leaders
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- Michael Nagler – Mineola Union Free School District
Webinars
Student Badging | September 18, 2018 | Mineola Union Free School District | WATCH NOW
Mike Nagler of Mineola Union Free School District shared his district’s work in kindergarten badging. The district adopted the program district-wide so that all Kindergarten students are assessed using a badge book that explains to the standards and provides supplemental activities for learning.
AP Shift | October 16, 2018 | Brooklyn Labs | WATCH NOW
Eric Tucker of Brooklyn Lab Charter Schools shares their district’s pilot of where the AP exam is headed next.
Portfolios | November 20, 2018 | Rowan Salisbury Schools and South Fayette Township School District | WATCH NOW
Julie Morrow of Rowan Salisbury Schools and Ken Lockette of South Fayette Township School District shared their respective districts’ approaches to student portfolios.
Building Powerful Grading Habits for Educators in a Standards-based World | December 18, 2018 | East Noble School Corporation and Gurnee School District 56 | WATCH NOW
Becca Lamon of East Noble School Corporation and Colleen Pacatte of Gurnee School District 56 share their work in advancing powerful grading habits for educators in their respective districts, despite the challenges of a standards-based world.
School Wide Learning Outcomes | January 15, 2019 | Avonworth School District
Tom Ralston shares the work Avonworth School District has done in building school-wide learning outcomes.
Applied Knowledge Assessments | March 15, 2019 | Mineola Union Free School District| WATCH NOW
Mike Nagler of Mineola School District shares the work his district has done in embedding AKAs (Applied Knowledge Assessments).