Innovating Education: Pivotal Changes Coming in 2025

At the start of any new year, we look ahead at what’s in store and how we can make the most of the time we have, and for most school leaders, that means finishing the school year strong.

As we begin 2025, the landscape of education is set for some exciting changes. The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) revealed its annual Driving K-12 Innovation Top Topics, outlining the key challenges and opportunities that will define K-12 education in 2025. This year’s report identifies the top three hurdles and accelerators for schools to address, along with the top three technology enablers to leverage.

The Driving K-12 Innovation initiative—which features input from an advisory board of more than 100 education stakeholders, including school principals and assistant principals and representatives from NAESP—pinpoints critical issues poised to accelerate, hinder or enable innovation in teaching and learning within K-12 spaces. By fostering awareness and guided action, the initiative empowers leaders, practitioners and policymakers to address these key topics effectively.

Let’s dive deep into these findings and explore their broader implications for society, individuals, and the education industry.

The Hurdles: Challenges to Overcome

• Attracting and Retaining Educators and IT Professionals: Schools are having trouble finding and keeping good teachers and tech staff. This is a big problem because good teachers and tech support are crucial for quality education.
• Evolution of Teaching and Learning: Teaching methods need to change to keep up with our fast-changing world. Schools must find new ways to prepare students for future jobs and life skills.
• Digital Equity: Schools must ensure fair access to technology. Not all students have the same access to computers and the internet. Schools need to work on providing equal tech resources to all students, regardless of their background.

The Accelerators: Speeding Up Innovation

• Learner Agency: Students can benefit from having more control in their education. Schools are starting to let students have more say in what and how they learn. This helps students become more independent and engaged in their education.
• Building the Human Capacity of Leaders: School leaders need better training and support to manage modern schools effectively. This includes understanding new technologies and teaching methods.
• Changing Attitudes Toward Demonstrating Learning: Gone are the days when a single test determined everything. Schools are moving away from only using tests to measure student progress. They’re exploring different ways for students to demonstrate what they’ve learned.

The Tech Enablers: Tools for Success

• Generative AI: Artificial Intelligence that can generate text, images, and more is becoming useful in education. It can help create learning materials and assist with various tasks.
• Analytics and Adaptive Technologies: New technologies can track how students are doing and adjust lessons to fit their needs. This makes learning more personal and effective.
• Untethered Broadband and Connectivity: Improved internet access means students can learn from anywhere. This is especially important for online classes and homework.

Embracing the Future

Education is changing in exciting ways. While there are challenges, there are also many opportunities to make learning better for all students. To make these positive changes happen, everyone needs to work together—teachers, school leaders, tech experts, and communities. It’s not just about new gadgets; it’s about finding the best ways to help students learn and grow.

As we settle into 2025, it’s important to stay open to new ideas in education. By addressing challenges and using new technologies wisely, we can create schools that prepare students well for their futures. The path to better education takes time and effort, but each improvement helps create a brighter future for students.

Stay tuned for the release of the full report, due out in February on the CoSN website.

Krysia Gabenski is editorial director at NAESP.