Spotlight on Innovation: Ypsilanti Community Schools
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At ASU+GSV, we believe the most powerful ideas come from the leaders on the front lines. We want to lift up K-12 leaders' stories of impact, innovation, and lasting change from the field to share with our global community—so we've asked visionary superintendents about how they're approaching systemic innovation with both ambition and purpose.
Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross, Superintendent of Ypsilanti Community School in Ypsilanti, MI, is scaling technology exploration that centers students, educators, and safe spaces to learn. Here's what she had to say about leading systemic innovation:
Q: How do we turn what's working in our schools into lasting change by moving from isolated pilots to scaled impact?
Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS) drives lasting impact through an R&D model built on innovation and equity. A six-month Khanmigo Algebra pilot yielded major math and English gains for ESL scholars, prompting a grade 6–12 rollout.
Guided by its AIxCoherence Framework and Strategic Plan, YCS addresses core challenges through teacher action research, Monday AI Playgrounds, Fail Fests, and AI Youth Ambassadors. Impact is evaluated using achievement data and feedback to scale only proven practices. The YCS AI Blueprint sets clear goals to expand research, engagement, and sustainable operations.
Q: How do we create space for educators to try, learn and improve without the fear of getting it wrong?
YCS replaces fear with curiosity by embedding structured experimentation into professional practice.
Programs like the Monday AI Playground, "Exploring AI @ YCS," and paid workshops give educators low-stakes spaces to try AI tools without pressure. Through Fail Fests and four annual teacher action-research cycles, missteps are treated as valuable learning opportunities.
Additionally, our AI Youth Ambassadors model shifts adult roles by having scholars co-teach educators. By balancing human oversight with psychological safety, YCS makes innovation collaborative, responsible, and empowering.
Q: Do you have any recommended resources, articles, or case studies related to systemic innovation?
Results from YCS:
Out of the district's total enrollment of approximately 4,100 scholars, the BeAble Literacy and Career Readiness Platform directly reached 1,323 K-12 students (approximately 32% of total scholars) during the 2025–2026 school year, while specialized pilots like Khanmigo engaged around 60 scholars in Algebra 1. This year, we are scaling Khanmigo to 1,500 scholars by December.
Additional Resources:
- Leading Educators VATT & VATL Frameworks: As you lean on technology in new ways, the Value Add of Technology on Teaching framework helps you determine how technology can strengthen instruction, deepen thinking, and ignite new possibilities for students in the age of AI.
- AIxCoherence Academy: Education First Announces Launch of AI x Coherence Academy and Welcomes 11 School Districts to National Program
- MI Systems Support: a resource and warehouse for continuous improvement facilitators, supporting systems improvement
- Using Roadmap-Formatted Curriculum in Elementary School to Improve NWEA Reading Growth: Study reviewing YCS BeAble Literacy and Career Readiness Platform; using NWEA Reading Conditional Growth Percentiles (CGP), students using the Roadmap format achieved a statistically significant 9-point surge in reading growth.
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