National: August 2025 Highlights
Innovation in Action
Each month, we celebrate the stories of Innovation Accelerator teachers and students making a difference across Indiana and beyond. This is the beyond!
New York: Tziri Lamm at Barkai Yeshivah High School
Doctorates, Fellowships, and Bridging Theory and Practice
For Tziri Lamm, this past year brought recognition that will shape both her future and her students' education. She completed her first year in a doctoral program in Jewish Educational Leadership and Innovation at Yeshiva University and was accepted into not one, but two fellowships.
The Graduate Fellowship positions her as a teaching assistant in Master's-level courses, connecting her directly with professors who may later guide her dissertation. Meanwhile, the Sacks Research Scholars Graduate Fellowship immerses her in the writings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, while providing leadership training, publishing opportunities, and the chance to teach in her community.
But for Tziri, these achievements represent more than academic milestones. “For me, the primary benefit of both of these fellowships is the opportunity to work with scholars and professors who are leaders in the Jewish education space, and access to high level learning opportunities,” she explains.
The real impact shows up in her daily work at Barkai Yeshivah High School, where her doctoral studies are already influencing how she approaches innovation. She's examining the "levers and limiters" of change in Jewish day schools, asking tough questions about what works and what doesn't. “Together with other members of my team, I am working to drive innovation in the school, pulling on what I'm learning about change management and how to shift school culture in a sustainable way.”
Tziri embodies the strong connection between advanced study and classroom practice by using her insights to drive change in her school.
Texas: Dr. Erin Flynn at Hedge School Cooperative
Joining a Major Research Project
As microschools multiply across the country, Dr. Erin Flynn of the Hedge School Cooperative is helping tackle one of the movement's biggest challenges: How do you measure what matters when your school looks nothing like traditional education?
This year, Hedge School Cooperative was selected for ‘Measuring What Matters in Microschools' a major research project sponsored by the National Microschooling Center. The challenge: how do you measure success when every microschool has different goals and methods? The project seeks to capture outcomes that reflect these diverse missions, moving beyond test scores to measure whole-student development.
“By participating in this research project, I and other operators will be better equipped to demonstrate the value of their schools, highlight their strengths, and identify current practices in need of refinement.” Erin shares. She has opted into all three research projects, with evaluation led by Daniel Hamlin of the University of Oklahoma. The findings will focus on sector-wide insights while protecting individual school, student, and staff privacy.
Read more about the project’s origins here: Measuring What Matters: Results from the Center’s Working Group
For Erin, the study represents something crucial for the microschool movement's future. These small, innovative schools are doing remarkable work with students, but much of it happens outside traditional metrics. By participating in research that captures their true impact, schools like Hedge can showcase their value and share their successes on a national scale.
Massachusetts: Jacqueline Collins at Mansfield High School
Rebuilding Conferences and Navigating AI
For Jacqueline Collins, 2025 has been a year of stepping up when it mattered most. When MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) faced financial difficulties, she didn't hesitate to return as Treasurer—a role she'd held for eight of her nine previous years on the board.
"It wasn't a decision I made lightly," she explains, "but I accepted my prior role and dedicated many hours to helping rebuild MassCUE to where it is right now." The nonprofit professional organization supports educators with professional development, networking, and digital learning opportunities as Massachusetts' affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
Her efforts have paid off, as MassCUE is once again hosting its flagship Fall Conference at Gillette Stadium in October—the largest event at the stadium aside from Patriots games and concerts.
Alongside her leadership work, Jacqueline has also been helping educators navigate AI in the classroom. At Next Gen Personal Finance’s (NGPF) Back to School Conference, she presented on an AI panel, sharing how tools like Magic School and NotebookLM support differentiated learning. “I may need to offer an activity for learners who are at four different skill levels within the same class, and creating all of those activities myself is very time consuming. Using AI as an assistant is very helpful. Students then get to choose which activity meets their needs and gives them a bit of a challenge.”
NotebookLM has proven especially valuable, allowing her to import her own materials and create podcasts, Q&As, summaries, and quizzes tailored to students needing remediation or extra preparation. By generating multi-level lesson plans, she ensures every student can access content while being appropriately challenged.
Still, Jacqueline approaches AI thoughtfully. “My district does not yet have an AI policy, so I am very careful about the use of AI with students. Student data privacy is very important to me. I do not feed student work into any LLMs because that is their intellectual property.”
Whether she's rebuilding one of Massachusetts' leading edtech organizations or designing personalized learning experiences with AI, Jacqueline demonstrates how educational leadership means both preserving what works and embracing what's next.
