North Allegheny joins 34 other leading school districts as members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools to advance innovation and excellence in education.

[Sept. 17, 2025] | [Pittsburgh, PA]—North Allegheny has been accepted into the League of Innovative Schools (The League), a national network of school districts that connects and supports the nation’s most forward-thinking leaders in education. The League is organized by Digital Promise, a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for every learner by bridging solutions across research, practice, and technology.

North Allegheny was selected from a competitive national pool of applicants based on its educational leadership, demonstrated commitment to excellence, innovative vision for learning, key achievements, and collaborative spirit.

North Allegheny joined the League of Innovative Schools because we believe in the power of collaboration. Our strategic/comprehensive plan calls us to provide targeted training for our staff and to actively participate in professional organizations that embody innovative educational practices. By engaging with like-minded districts across the nation, we strengthen our ability to learn from others, share our own successes, and accelerate progress together - proving that there is strength in numbers, no need to reinvent the wheel, and every opportunity to inspire a student who may one day invent something even greater.

“Joining the League of Innovative Schools affirms our commitment to preparing all students for success in a rapidly changing world,” said Dr. Brendan Hyland, North Allegheny Superintendent of Schools. “By connecting our educators and learners with a national network of forward-thinking schools, we embrace innovation not as a trend, but as a responsibility; ensuring our students are ready not only to succeed in the future, but to shape it.”

As a member, North Allegheny will have access to unique, innovative professional learning opportunities and resources, including:

• Cutting edge technology and innovations
• Unique pilot programs for new learning and teaching models that benefit educators and students
• Continuous learning opportunities, such as year-round learning collaboratives, working groups, implementation cohorts, regional gatherings, and national conferences to build leadership and accelerate transformation
• Regional events, industry conferences, and bi-annual convenings, which feature school visits, and deep-dive breakout sessions
• Networking opportunities with other forward-thinking education leaders from around the country around key challenges and generating best practices and resources

The League of Innovative Schools equips superintendents and district leaders to help shape the future of teaching and learning through hands-on opportunities to collaborate, connect, and learn.

"Education leaders are constantly navigating new challenges, and no one should have to do it alone," said Jillian Doggett, director of network support at Digital Promise. "The League provides superintendents and other district leaders a trusted community where they can share effective strategies, pilot new innovations, and find real-world solutions. It's about collective impact. Together, we're not just innovating; we're shaping the future of public education for students in our districts and across the country."

This year’s 2025–26 cohort of League members is the largest cohort to date, with 35 new district members. The full list of members can be found at digitalpromise.org/districts.

North Allegheny and the other new League members collectively represent 175 districts across 35 states, and expands its cumulative impact to over 4.4 million students served over time.

For more information on the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, visit digitalpromise.org/league.

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About Digital Promise

Digital Promise is a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for each learner. We work with educators, researchers, technology leaders, and communities to design, investigate, and scale up innovations that empower learners, especially those who have been historically and systematically excluded. Our work is done so that every learner can engage in powerful learning experiences that lead to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic mobility. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow @digitalpromise for updates.

The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.

“I am extremely proud of the work that the Business Office does,” said Dr. Brendan Hyland, Superintendent of Schools for North Allegheny.  “It is a true team effort from top to bottom in the department. The district makes it a priority to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money, and we earnestly recognize that it is our responsibility to ensure that both our financial and budgetary management practices are the best they can be. This external recognition is validation of those efforts and demonstrates that we are on the right track and will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards possible.”

The GFOA established the certificate program in 1945 to encourage state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting. North Allegheny’s financial report was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive "spirit of full disclosure" to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.

In addition to the GFOA honor, the North Allegheny Business Office also recently received a Certificate of Excellence from Digital Assurance Certification (DAC) Bond. This award recognizes the North Allegheny School District for five years of dedication to compliance with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 15(c)2-12.

“It brings me great pride to be part of such an amazing team,” said Director of Finance, Mr. Kermit Houser. “Receiving both the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and the DAC Bond Certificate of Excellence is an outstanding testament to our team's hard work and dedication. These significant recognitions highlight the unwavering commitment to financial integrity, transparency, and operational excellence that we strive for daily. These awards are a direct reflection of the team members’ exceptional efforts.”

North Allegheny High School received top honors in Pittsburgh and was ranked No. 4 in Pennsylvania. All three middle schools in the district were in the Top 20 in the state out of 683 schools, with Marshall Middle School and Ingomar Middle School ranked second and fifth, respectively. Marshall and Ingomar held first and second positions in the Pittsburgh region, with Carson Middle School checking in at ninth in Pittsburgh and 16th in the state.

The elementary schools in North Allegheny also achieved high marks, finishing in the top 50 out of 1,622 schools in the survey. Notably, Franklin, Bradford Woods, and Marshall Elementary Schools ranked Nos. 2, 3, and 4 in the state and Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in Pittsburgh. Additionally, Ingomar Elementary and Hosack Elementary ranked 10th and 12th in the state, respectively. All seven NASD elementary schools placed in the top 25 out of 234 schools in the Pittsburgh region.

For a more comprehensive look at North Allegheny's ratings according to Niche, click here. To learn more about the methodology used by Niche to calculate its rankings, click here.

PA STW State leaders select schools for the STW program based on their Academic Excellence, Developmental Responsiveness, Social Equity and Organizational Structures and Processes. In addition, each school has strong leadership, teachers who work together to improve curriculum and instruction, and a commitment to assessment and accountability to bring about continuous improvement. 

The Schools to Watch selection process is based on a written application that required schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Schools that appeared to meet the criteria were then visited by a state team, which observed classrooms, interviewed administrators, teachers, students, and parents, and looked at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons, and student work.

Schools are recognized for a three-year period, and at the end of three years they need to re-apply to continue to be recognized as a STW school. They must also demonstrate progress on specific goals in order to be re-designated. Unlike the Blue Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch” requires schools to not just identify strengths, but to also focus on areas for continuous improvement; thus the three year re-designation. The re-designation process is based on the schools continued growth since their last STW recognition.

Congratulations to the students, teachers, staff, parents, and administrators on this remarkable achievement!