19 Nonprofit Leadership Myths That Experience Proves Wrong
Forbes selected a response from Interim CEO Matt Williams for its expert panel on debunking nonprofit myths.

Interweaving Assessment in the Age of AI: Policy Implications for Advancing Innovation that Centers Learner Variability
Developed in partnership by CAST and Menlo Education Research, this white paper explores how assessment policy can support innovation in the age of AI while centering learner variability. KnowledgeWorks’ Lillian Pace served as an advisor, providing instrumental guidance that helped shape the paper.

Who will shape education in 2036?
At Education Futures, Katherine Prince and John Moravec examine educational sovereignty, teacher judgment and the risk that human attention could become a premium service.

At a recent Community Conversation, Northsiders explored ways to build better schools together
KnowledgeWorks’ Jason Swanson explored the possibilities and challenges facing schools and the opportunities ahead at a community roundtable in Pittsburgh.

From Modular Schooling to an Attention Divide: 4 Trends Shaping the Next Decade in K-12
Following EdWeek Market Brief’s K-12 Futurecast webinar, Michelle Caffrey highlights key perspectives from the event, including modular education options featured in the KnowledgeWorks forecast and discussed by Katherine Prince.

The Grade Illusion: Why A’s And B’s Don’t Guarantee Workplace Readiness
Interim CEO Matt Williams authors this piece for the Forbes Nonprofit Council that examines the value of traditional letter grades and what they really tell us about learners and learning.

For-Profit Skills That Can Strengthen Nonprofit Teams
Forbes selected a response from Interim CEO Matt Williams for its expert panel on for-profit skills that can strengthen nonprofit teams. Matt shares how KnowledgeWorks uses strategic foresight to anticipate change and prepare for the future.

States’ Role in Transforming High School: Evidence, Trends and the Path Forward
KnowledgeWorks’ Jon Alfuth co-authored a paper with NASBE staff that examines how state leaders, especially state boards of education, can move beyond our traditional one-size-fits-all high school model and empower communities to build high school experiences that meet the needs of today’s students.

North Side Education Panel Sees School Reconfiguration Plan as a Chance to ‘Create Something Better’
KnowledgeWorks’ Jason Swanson joined a panel discussion addressing sweeping reconfiguration plans for Pittsburgh Public Schools’ and the impacts and possiblireites for the future of public education in the North Side of Pittsburgh.

One Map, Every Framework: The Shared Architecture Behind School Transformation
Getting Smart published an analysis of education transformation frameworks from 16 organizations, including KnowledgeWorks.

5 Ways State Policy Can Support High School Transformations
This K-12 Dive article highlights the five ways state policy can support high school transformation as detailed in a recent report released by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) with the support of KnowledgeWorks.

From Vision to Infrastructure: What Policy Gets Right (and Wrong)
In this Insight Jam Skills Series, America Succeeds talks with KnowledgeWorks’ Lillian Pace about moving durable skills from an aspiration to a reality.

States’ Role in Transforming High School: Evidence, Trends, and the Path Forward
Jon Alfuth joins NASBE’s Celina Pierrottet and Caroline Flower to examine how state leaders are helping schools move beyond traditional measures of success and create learning experiences that better align with students’ goals, interests and aspirations. 

From Vision to Infrastructure: What Policy Gets Right (and Wrong)
In this Insight Jam Skills Series, America Succeeds talks with KnowledgeWorks’ Lillian Pace about moving durable skills from an aspiration to a reality.

University of Michigan Plans to Forgo Letter Grades for Some First-Semester Freshmen Next Year
The University of Michigan plans to forgo letter grades for some first-semester freshmen next year, prompting debate over the usefulness and impact of grades. Abbie Everett, senior director of teaching and learning at KnowledgeWorks, joins CBS News to discuss.

Measuring Skills That Matter
Our partner Northern Cass School District 97 is one of the three school systems featured that are moving durable skills from aspiration to architecture. From capstone experiences in North Dakota and Colorado to credentialing pathways in Missouri, these schools demonstrate what’s possible when communities are intentional about developing skills like collaboration, communication, persistence and critical thinking.

BASD Receives Moonshot Grant
Remake Learning, in partnership with KnowledgeWorks and the Butler County Manufacturing Consortium, were awarded a Moonshot Grant to bring mathematics learning into advanced manufacturing facilities, giving students the opportunity to earn academic credit through authentic, hands-on workplace experiences while connecting classroom learning to high-demand careers.

How Educators Can Practice “Futures Thinking”
Traditional strategic plans often fail in times of rapid change. EdSurge spoke with Katie about futures thinking, the forces shaping the next decade of education and how educators can turn long-term reflection into practical action.

Ultimate PD Reading List
KnowledgeWorks’ Portrait of a Leader is listed among EdWeek’s ultimate PD reading list for educators and leaders.

What Should Leadership Look Like in the Age of Generation Alpha? Why Leadership Competencies Are More Important Than Ever
Nate McClennen writes at Getting Smart that education leaders need to move beyond reactive problem-solving and build shared leadership competencies that help systems respond to long-term structural change. The Portrait of a Leader is one of the cited resources.

Personalized Learning in Practice: Lessons from North Dakota Schools
In partnership with KnowledgeWorks, FullScale recently released a new series of spotlights exploring how schools and districts across North Dakota are bringing personalized learning to life.

Tyranny of College Admissions: Why It’s So Challenging to Have Real Change in K-12 Education
Senior Director of State Policy Jon Alfuth authored this opinion piece for Getting Smart on the unmitigated influence of the college admissions on K-12 innovation.

Meta AI for Education: Personalized Learning, Tutoring, and Research Assistance
At Blockchain Council, Suyash Raizada refers to a KnowledgeWorks resource on the use of artifical intelligence for personalized learning.

What the Supreme Court Actually Required Was Individual Progress
This article at the Learning Counsel references resources from KnowledgeWorks, developed in partnership with the Education Commission of the States.

Beyond the Bell
This Frontdoors Magazine article highlights how Arizona schools are innovating by using local policy flexibilities made more visible and accessible through Permission Granted, an initiative launched in early 2026 by the Center for the Future of Arizona and the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University, with support from the national nonprofit KnowledgeWorks.

The “When” of Transformation
Nate McClennen talks with Rebecca E. Wolfe about what it takes to turn innovation into lasting system change. Wolfe references Educator Competencies, developed in partnership with KnowledgeWorks and Jobs for the Future (JFF).

Portraits of a Graduate and AI Could Revolutionize Assessment. Here’s What’s Coming (EdWeek): How district demand for measuring “Portrait of a Graduate” durable skills is challenging the assessment status quo, featuring Lillian Pace

A Bridge to the Future of State Assessment
Statewide assessments were built for a different era of schooling. Now we’re asking them to do more than they were designed to do. Reviewed by Lillian Pace and Jon Alfuth, Transcend’s new white paper lays out a bridge strategy for how policy leaders can modernize assessment without losing the public functions that still matter.

K-12 assessments may soon look very different. Here’s why.
KnowledgeWorks’ Lillian Pace sat down with Emma Kate Fittes of EdWeek Market Brief to discuss the shifting tides in education assessments.

AI Tutors? Outdoor Classrooms? The Future of Learning in Pittsburgh
With host City Cast Pittsburgh producer Mallory Falk, KnowledgeWorks’ Jason Swanson and Remake Learning’s Tyler Samstag explore how learning is evolving in Pittsburgh and what it could look like in the years ahead, breaking down the biggest trends shaping the future of education, how you can help shape what comes next and and why all of this matters even if you don’t have kids. Listen at Apple or Spotify.