Today, district leaders are being asked to make irreversible budget decisions with fewer dollars and less margin for error than ever before. Yet many districts are making those decisions with limited evidence of what actually works in their classrooms — not because leaders lack interest in data, but because few systems are designed to support real-time learning at the district level.
For school and district leaders, quality data is key. Without strong research, data and connections, district leaders can find themselves working in silos, testing similar ideas in parallel without a shared way to learn what works, what does not and why.
“Right now, education research and development (R&D) isn’t about experimentation; it’s about making smarter bets with limited resources,” shared Jillian Doggett, director of the League of Innovative Schools at Digital Promise.
“R&D has to be embedded in a district’s DNA so that we are not making decisions based on assumptions of what we think works, or on what worked five or 10 years ago,” said Doggett.
That shift requires moving past a traditional approach in which programs are adopted districtwide before leaders have meaningful local evidence of fit or impact.
Dr. Robert Hill, superintendent and chief executive officer of the Springfield City School District in Ohio, argues that meeting students’ needs requires stepping beyond familiar models. To him, research and development is a way to test new approaches, learn quickly and build evidence before scaling.
“Through R&D, we can think outside the box, build evidence through continuous improvement and then advance policy, with funding attached, that actually supports kids,” Hill said.
How Districts Are Prioritizing Research and Development
Hill’s belief in the connection between R&D and student outcomes led him to join a national advisory group of district leaders focused on making education research more responsive to real-time needs.
Prioritizing research and development has already led to measurable progress for Hill’s district. As part of a chronic absenteeism cohort, Hill and his team worked with peer districts to test strategies, analyze real-time attendance data and refine approaches based on what was actually driving shifts in student engagement. Rather than relying on a single program or past assumptions, the district used an inclusive innovation model to identify which interventions were effective.
“Research and development has helped us better engage our students,” Hill shared. “By aligning student interests to career pathways and connecting that with labor market data, we are actually seeing forward progress on our academic outcomes.”
For Dr. Audra Pittman, superintendent of Calistoga Joint Unified School District in rural California, engaging in education research and development helps ensure her district operates through an equity lens. Her approach to innovation is grounded in the belief that if current practices are not working for all students, districts have an obligation to keep trying new approaches.
Through a structured research partnership, Pittman’s district is examining how families and staff can partner more effectively through a cohesive, district-wide engagement and support approach centered on a co-design framework. This work asks not only whether something works, but also for whom, under what conditions and why.
The partnership allows Pittman’s team to pilot ideas thoughtfully, balancing innovation with the realities of limited time and capacity.
Why Collaboration Is Essential to Scaling What Works
Alongside education research and development, Pittman attributes strong connections with peers across the country to turning local insights into broader change.
“There’s a lot of good work that’s occurring across our nation,” said Pittman. Through participation in a national learning network, leaders like Hill and Pittman test, share and refine practices through issue-focused cohorts, innovative partnerships and regular in-person touchpoints.
As a busy superintendent, Pittman knows how difficult it can be to identify new methods she can trust. Engaging with peers who are testing emerging approaches and sharing evidence of impact has supported more efficient, informed decision-making.
Doggett has seen districts benefit from this hands-on approach to research and development, including access to research partnerships, shared tools and opportunities to learn across systems.
“That connective tissue allows district-led R&D to move quickly, learn in real time and extend beyond individual districts.”
From Policy to Action
The collaborative efforts of district leaders matter not only for research and development but also for policy.
“It’s necessary to have conversations with [policymakers] to express the challenges we are facing, the flexibility that’s necessary to advance an R&D model, and the funding that’s associated with that,” Hill shared.
Traditional funding structures often require districts to commit to specific programs upfront, leaving little room for the iterative testing that defines effective research and development. As a result, districts are often forced to choose certainty over learning — even when that certainty is more assumed than proven.
Late last year, Hill, Pittman and other district leaders convened in Washington, D.C., to make the case for a reimagined approach to funding that better supports effective education R&D.
During those meetings, leaders shared how collaborative research and development efforts have supported improvements in teaching and learning and discussed ways to scale effective practices. They called for sustained investment, greater flexibility to reduce barriers to innovation and more transparent sharing of results to accelerate learning and advance equity nationwide.
“When you’re surrounded by districts from across the nation, you are reminded that education … is truly a bipartisan issue,” Pittman reflected. “We are somewhat divided now, and this is an opportunity to bring us back together.”
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