Digital Promise and TNTP Launch Three-Year Partnership to Help Schools Integrate AI in Ways That Strengthen Teaching, Deepen Learning, and Expand Future Pathways
New partnership aims to reach 15 million learners by 2028 through evidence-based, educator-centered AI adoption
Washington, D.C., April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Digital Promise and TNTP announced a three-year partnership to help schools, districts, and states integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that strengthen instruction, deepen learning, and expand future pathways for learners. Rather than treating AI as a standalone innovation, the work is focused on helping systems decide where AI adds value, how it should align with curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning, and what evidence should guide responsible adoption. Over time, the partnership will generate usable tools, field-tested models, and transparent guidance that others across the country can learn from and apply.
“AI should earn its place in schools by enhancing educators’ capacity to teach and learners’ ability to engage deeply, not by replacing human judgment or creativity,” said Jean-Claude Brizard, President and CEO of Digital Promise. “By combining our strengths in learning sciences, educator co-design, and research-backed innovation with TNTP’s deep expertise in instructional coherence and systems implementation, we can build the evidence and practical models school systems need to adopt AI responsibly and effectively.”
As AI rapidly enters classrooms across the country, school systems are navigating a critical inflection point. Without a coherent approach, AI can increase workload, disrupt learning, and produce uneven results for students – particularly those who have been historically underserved. The TNTP and Digital Promise partnership is designed to help systems move from scattered experimentation to intentional, evidence-based practice that keeps learners and educators at the center.
“AI has the potential to be the most powerful learning tool we've ever put in front of young people, but only if we're clear about what we're actually trying to build: real capability. The kind that puts students on a path to genuine opportunity,” said Dr. Tequilla Brownie, CEO of TNTP. “This partnership is about ensuring AI delivers on that vision—by testing what works in real classrooms, grounding it in research, and producing guidance the field can actually use.”
Salesforce is providing funding for the partnership’s initial phase, supporting TNTP and Digital Promise in building educator tools, piloting professional learning, and generating evidence for responsible, workforce-aligned AI integration in K-12 education.
Across the three-year partnership, TNTP and Digital Promise will work together to develop practitioner-informed models that help school systems to make human-led, strategic decisions about AI. The partnership will generate evidence that integrates educator insights, learner feedback, and classroom realities – ensuring AI adoption is contextually relevant and grounded in what actually works.
The partnership’s work is grounded in five core commitments:
- Learning first: Ensure AI enhances educators’ capacity to teach and learners’ ability to engage deeply, not replace human judgment or creativity.
- Evidence before scale: Build and use evidence that reflects educator insights, learner feedback, and classroom realities to guide adoption.
- Coherence over fragmentation: Align AI with curriculum, instructional routines, assessment, and professional learning.
- Pathways and mobility: Connect classroom practice to durable skills, postsecondary readiness, and long-term economic mobility.
- Field-building, not just field-signaling: Develop practical tools, models, and guidance that enable informed, human-led decisions about AI use while preserving the relational core of teaching.
Details about the partnership’s initial pilots, professional learning offerings, and field-facing publications will be announced in the coming months. For more information, please follow TNTP and Digital Promise on LinkedIn.
About Digital Promise
Digital Promise is a global nonprofit working to expand opportunity for every learner. We work with educators, researchers, technology leaders, and communities to design, investigate, and scale innovations that support learners, especially those who've been historically and systematically excluded. Our vision is that every person engages in powerful learning experiences that lead to a life of well-being, fulfillment, and economic mobility. For more information, visit digitalpromise.org and follow Digital Promise for updates.
About TNTP
TNTP is a national nonprofit working to expand opportunity and economic mobility for every young person. We work with educators, school and system leaders, policymakers, and communities to research, implement, and scale innovations that build both access and capability for students. We leverage technology and cross-sector partnerships to strengthen instruction, support educators, and ensure learners are working toward meaningful careers and meaningful lives. Our vision is that 50 million young people are on a path to economic and social mobility by 2035. For more information, visit tntp.org and follow TNTP for updates.
Contact Info
Kathryn Zielony
kathryn.zielony@tntp.org
+1 541-941-6612
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