Today, we celebrate those who have earned advanced recognition within our Microsoft Elevate for Educators community this year: over 54,000 Expert and Fellow educators, more than 1,100 Showcase schools, and 20 inaugural Beacon schools and systems.

Together, they join a community of more than 100,000 educators who learn from one another, build their skills, and open new possibilities for every learner to thrive.

As teaching and learning evolve, teachers and school leaders are defining what responsible innovation means for education. Microsoft is committed to supporting their expertise and judgment, so technology strengthens students’ curiosity without replacing their thinking.

Supporting educators means giving them opportunities to learn, too. Microsoft’s latest AI in Education report finds that 88% of educators surveyed have used AI for school purposes, yet 53% have not received training from their institution. And 66% want training monthly or quarterly. Educators are asking for ongoing professional learning and clear guidance to put it into practice.

In partnership with leading education organizations worldwide, Microsoft Elevate for Educators provides a global peer community, professional learning, practical resources, and a pathway that recognizes educators and schools as they progress. It reflects Microsoft’s investment in the people and institutions that help students excel, building skills and widening opportunity for every learner.

So many of us can name a teacher who helped us see ourselves differently, or a school that gave us a sense of possibility. Behind those moments are people doing extraordinarily demanding work. Microsoft Elevate for Educators is our way of saying: you matter, your work matters, and you deserve a place where others understand the challenges, have creative solutions, and can help you be your best.

—Dr. Kevin Frey, Chief Impact Officer, Microsoft Elevate

Celebrating educators leading the way

As educators progress through Microsoft Elevate for Educators, they build skills, strengthen classroom practices, and put Microsoft for Education tools to work. Experts advance classroom innovation, while Fellows build on that experience to mentor peers and lead change beyond their own classrooms.

We celebrate the 2026–2027 Microsoft Elevate Expert Educators and 2026–2028 Educator Fellows for their commitment to learning and supporting one another.

Schools at the frontier of technology implementation

Schools can also progress through Microsoft Elevate for Educators and earn recognition for strengthening teaching and learning. Microsoft Elevate Showcase Schools demonstrate excellence in technology integration, exploring new ways to use digital tools to support educators and enrich learning experiences.

This year, we welcomed our first-ever Microsoft Elevate Beacon Schools and Systems. This new designation recognizes leadership at scale through strategic technology planning that brings tools, people, and practices together to extend innovation across entire school systems.

Together, Showcase and Beacon Schools are at the frontier of technology use in education, showing how emerging tools can expand what is possible for learners. By sharing what works and what doesn’t, they can help other schools turn innovation into practice.

Spotlight: A culture of confidence in Australia

What happens when educator learning and innovation becomes a whole school effort? At Canterbury College, a K12 school in Queensland, Australia, Microsoft Elevate educators share their learning through collaboration and teacher meetups. Teachers use Microsoft Copilot to personalize resources and help students explore independently.

The biggest change that we see is that there is confidence in doing something new. And in a school, that’s everything.

—Dan Walker, Principal, Canterbury College

With leadership supporting teachers to learn and share, their growing confidence is strengthening teaching across the school.

Elevating education together

Feeling inspired? Your journey can start today. Educators can begin as Explorers and schools can join as Pathfinders at any time of the year. From day one, you’ll build skills, connect with peers, put new ideas into practice, and develop a portfolio toward advanced recognition.

The next application window for Expert Educator and Showcase School recognition opens in November.

We celebrate the educators, schools, and school systems whose ideas and generosity inspire others and bring new possibilities to classrooms worldwide. Here’s to another year of learning together and helping students thrive.

Stay connected

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• Explore the Microsoft Learn Educator Center.

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Higher education institutions excel at developing human intelligence. To get the most out of AI, education leaders can apply the same logic: knowledge is the raw material; intelligence comes through making connections.

As I step into an expanded role supporting Microsoft’s work in education, one thing is already clear: higher education does not lack knowledge, ambition, or innovation. The opportunity is to connect those strengths more effectively so institutions can translate them into meaningful outcomes. This is also one way Microsoft’s broader commitment to AI in education comes to life in higher education. Connecting institutional intelligence is not an end in itself. Its value lies in what it enables people to achieve across teaching, learning, research, and campus life.

Big ambitions, shrinking budgets

A confluence of long-term trends is putting financial pressure on higher education. Birth rates are declining in much of the world, and as a result, fewer potential students enter higher education each year. The number of United States high school graduates reached a historic peak of about 3.9 million in 2025 and is projected to decline 13% by 2041.¹

A smaller student pool means steeper competition among colleges and universities and decreased revenue from tuition, while research funding is becoming increasingly scarce.

At the same time, students want to see the ROI for their college degrees, and the job market they’ll enter is changing in real time. LinkedIn research projects that roughly 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030,² with AI as the chief catalyst, and 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI literacy skills.³

Institutions need to provide excellent student outcomes and experiences, develop AI skills and literacy, engage alumni, and produce innovative research—and do it all with fewer resources.

Connecting AI with institutional data, knowledge, and workflows can help colleges and universities address specific priorities across student experiences, research, instruction, and operations.

Preparing students for an AI-shaped workplace requires more than familiarity with new tools. It requires opportunities to question an answer, evaluate evidence, and explain a judgment, with faculty deciding where AI belongs in that learning process.

Connected intelligence in action

Microsoft partners with many colleges and universities that are already connecting AI with institutional data, workflows, and governance to advance student success; expand capacity for faculty and staff across instruction, research, and operations; and scale AI with trust. Connecting information across an institution also requires clear decisions about who can access it, how it may be used, and who remains accountable. Those decisions belong alongside workflow design, not after deployment.

• California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Copilot Studio to connect data, workflows, and AI across the student journey. The result: 50% faster email response times and more consistent, connected student support.
• Miami Dade College drove a 15% increase in student pass rates and a 12% drop in course dropout rates by adopting Microsoft Copilot for student learning assistance.
• The University of Kentucky implemented standardized AI institution-wide on a secure platform with a comprehensive governance framework designed to build AI literacy and encourage innovation.

Now, Microsoft IQ provides new ways for higher education to connect siloed information and ground AI in institutional IQ for more effective outcomes. Microsoft IQ provides an intelligence layer that can help institutions:

• Connect AI and agents to the systems and workflows people already use, providing relevant institutional context.
• Bring together shared intelligence to help AI and agents deliver more relevant and actionable results.
• Support the use of AI and agents within an institution’s existing security, identity, and compliance framework.

Foundations for the future

To drive meaningful impact with AI, institutions need strategic, coordinated adoption. Decisions around AI shouldn’t revolve around tools or models, but rather what the institution wants to achieve and how AI can get it there. This is not the case at most colleges and universities today: the majority are rapidly adopting AI, but only 22% of them say they have an institution-wide AI strategy.⁴

This changes the starting point for the AI conversation. The first question shouldn’t be, “Where can we deploy AI?” but “What does our institution already know that, if better connected, could help students, faculty, researchers, and staff achieve more?”

The institutions that lead the next phase of AI will not be the ones with the most tools. They will be the ones that connect the intelligence they already hold—programs, records, research, policies, and operational know-how—to AI in ways that are secure, governed, and genuinely actionable.

Our new paper, “Unlocking Intelligence in Higher Education,” explores ways to put these ideas into action. The paper outlines three key moves higher education institutions can make to build a foundation that enables them to harness the power of institutional IQ and safely drive impact with AI at scale.

The conversations education leaders need to have now are about building those foundations, regardless of what tools they choose. We’re looking forward to discussing these topics with higher education leaders in person at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado from September 29, 2026 to October 2, 2026.

Microsoft’s commitment to higher education is to help institutions put their collective intelligence to work. By connecting AI, data, and everyday workflows with strong governance, we can help institutions pursue the outcomes that matter: more responsive student support, greater capacity for faculty and researchers, and graduates prepared to navigate a changing world.

¹ Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Report: High school graduates will peak next year, then most states will see steady declines through 2041.

² LinkedIn Talent Blog, Skills on the Rise in 2025, March 2025.

³ LinkedIn, AI and the Global Economy: Unlocking Growth and Reshaping Work.

⁴ EDUCAUSE, 2025 AI Landscape Study, February 2025.

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That commitment continues today, in a technological moment unlike any we have seen. AI can personalize learning, reduce administrative burden, accelerate research and expand access to high-quality instruction. It also brings real risk. Educators and parents are asking whether students are still doing the thinking, and whether the tools their children use are safe. Those are the right questions.

At its core, teaching and inspiring students to become their best selves is a deeply human endeavor. Education is built on a meaningful partnership among educators, students and families that helps unlock human potential and shape brighter futures.

No one company understands entirely how AI will reshape education. But uncertainty calls for more care, not less. That is why Microsoft is taking a holistic approach, grounded in five principles.

1. Safety, privacy, security and transparency by design
2. Educators remain in control and at the center of AI use in the classroom
3. AI designed to support students’ learning, not replace their thinking
4. AI strengthens education systems, from learning to discovery
5. Every student prepared for an AI powered future

1. Safety, privacy, security and transparency by design

Every AI system used in education should be designed with robust safeguards that protect student privacy, enhance safety, reduce risk – including safeguards that address bias – and provide the transparency that students, educators and parents deserve.

We believe institutions should never have to choose between innovation and trust.

Security, privacy and transparency are foundational to Microsoft’s approach in education.

That is why last week, we signed a landmark agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and introduced a new Privacy & Safety Standard for Schools covering Microsoft Education products. The agreement represents the first time a major technology company and one of America’s largest teachers’ unions have come together to define what trusted AI should look like within these products. The Standard limits how Microsoft Education products can use student and educator data, requires human oversight for consequential decisions, provides meaningful transparency for families and holds Microsoft accountable when we fall short. It also affirms that schools retain ownership of the knowledge and ideas they create.

We did not build this Standard to keep it to ourselves. Students and institutions deserve these protections, whichever technology their school chooses. We invite others across our industry to meet this bar with us.

2. Educators remain in control and at the center of AI use in the classroom

Educators should remain at the center of teaching and learning. AI should augment educator expertise, not replace professional judgment. Educators should help shape the design of AI systems and be equipped with the skills and support needed to use AI in ways that support student outcomes.

Technology alone does not transform education. Educators do. At a school in the Bronx, special education teacher Ashley Hernandez is using Copilot to develop differentiated, sensory-aware materials for students with complex communication and medical needs. Technology helps her adapt learning experiences more efficiently and creates more time to work directly with students. Just as importantly, her experience has helped shape the future of the technology itself.

Educators know best what works in the classroom, and their voices are reflected in the products we create. Through our Education Insiders Program, educators and school leaders participate in private product previews and feedback sessions to help us improve tools before they’re released.

That is why we build products like Teach in Microsoft 365 Copilot. Teach is our education-first AI experience for educators. Designed around real instructional workflows, it helps educators adapt materials for different learners, build lessons that match their standards and spend less time planning. Our goal is not to automate teaching; it is to lift the administrative burden that gets in the way.

Customers tell us this works. Brisbane Catholic Education achieved a 275% increase in learner agency among at-risk cohorts. Since deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot, Miami Dade College has seen a 15% increase in student pass rates and a 12% drop in course dropout rates.

Educators need practical training, communities of practice and in-demand credentials. Through Microsoft Elevate for Educators, we are connecting educators with those resources and pathways. Over the last year, more than 17 million people have completed an in-demand AI skills credential. Through the Elevate for Educators program, we help educators build the understanding and confidence they need to teach about AI effectively and responsibly. We also offer practical materials that help educators introduce generative AI safely and responsibly to students.

3. AI designed to support students’ learning, not replace their thinking

AI systems in education should be grounded in learning science and designed to promote healthy student engagement, critical thinking, student well-being and improved learning outcomes.

According to our recent research on learning science, a significant risk of AI in education is cognitive offloading that creates the appearance of learning without the cognitive work that makes learning durable. This is a real problem. Students think they are learning when they are not.

Many commonly used tools were not designed for education. They prioritize speed over understanding, and many institutions have responded by limiting or blocking access entirely, even as students continue to use AI on their own. Without a purpose-built learning experience, trust becomes the barrier to enabling AI for students at all.

Education needs AI designed to support the purposes of education: helping people build knowledge, critical thinking, judgement and confidence.

Some of the most important learning happens when students are stuck. Difficulty builds understanding that lasts. AI that removes that struggle can quietly move the thinking from the learner to the machine. We must protect the work that helps learners grow.

Microsoft’s AI experiences in education are age-appropriate by design — including default-off access to Copilot Chat for K-12 students with administrator controls for age-based enablement as learners progress. In earlier grades, Minecraft Education builds foundational AI literacy while Learning Accelerators personalize support and provide timely feedback. As students advance, the Study and Learn Agent uses scaffolded questions and interactive practice to help learners work through concepts without doing the work for them. For older learners, Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces the same enterprise-grade tools they will use in their careers.

4. AI strengthens education systems, from learning to discovery

Strong education institutions create opportunity by identifying needs early, acting quickly and directing limited resources where they matter most.

AI can help institutions support students sooner, reduce paperwork, use information more effectively, strengthen security and accelerate research and discovery.

Today, important information is often scattered across different systems and teams. Used responsibly, AI can bring it together so schools, colleges and universities can make better decisions and take coordinated action.

Broward County Public Schools confronted a significant budget shortfall requiring operational efficiency across 235 schools. Despite being data-rich, the district lacked real-time insights. They deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot integrated with its Microsoft 365 ecosystem and identified significant operational inefficiencies that helped them achieve projected facilities savings of $40 to $50 million over five years. That savings could be reinvested in supporting their educators and students.

At University of North Carolina, medical researchers are using a secure research environment built on Microsoft Azure to conduct data-driven clinical research while protecting sensitive patient information. It’s now supporting 25 active studies and expanding access to advanced analytics and AI capabilities within a controlled research environment.

Innovative educational systems do more than adopt new technology. They drive coordinated action that results in better outcomes for learners, educators, researchers and communities.

5. Every student prepared for an AI powered future

Every student should have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and judgment needed to use AI responsibly and the skills to prosper from the emerging AI economy.

The most consequential AI divide of the next decade may not be who has access to AI. It may be who has access to AI skills and the pathways that turn those skills into economic opportunity.

The AI Economy Institute, Microsoft’s flagship think tank, recently released a book exploring how AI technologies shape the education experience and found that AI-related skills command wage premiums up to 40%, surpassing returns from advanced degrees.

AI Literacy is now nonnegotiable across every discipline. The importance of understanding AI fundamentals, limitations and ethical implications — including healthy skepticism toward outputs — is universal.

Offerings like Minecraft Education AI Ready Skills help students build that foundation through a game-based pathway culminating in a credential aligned to CSTA and ISTE standards

Our partnerships with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, National Applied AI Consortium and North America’s Building Trades Unions help to ensure this work is informed by educators, workers and community members alike. Their insights help guide the tools we build, the skills we teach and the pathways we create so that students can succeed in an AI-powered economy.

Expanding our NABTU partnership, we recently introduced the Jobs Machine to help parents, students and high school counselors explore the skilled trades as a valuable education and career pathway.

In higher education, institutions are turning AI literacy into curriculum. Auburn University created a “Teaching with Artificial Intelligence” course now available to nearly 10,000 faculty at more than 90 institutions. Babson College built an interdisciplinary AI lab — The Generator — integrating Azure OpenAI tools and Copilot assistants across every faculty member and student. And the University of South Florida built a student ambassador program that has driven 55 to 60% time savings on some tasks and now demonstrates practical AI use in real department workflows.

The aim is not to train learners for one fixed set of tools. It is to help them develop the knowledge, agency and judgment to keep adapting throughout their lives.

The future of education will not be defined by technology alone. It will be defined by how effectively we bring together innovation, trust and human potential.

Building the future of education, together

Microsoft will continue investing across all five principles and, more importantly, alongside the educators, learners, institutions, governments, labor organizations and communities shaping education’s next chapter.

AI is already changing how people learn and work. The responsibility and the opportunity before all of us is to ensure it strengthens learning, expands opportunity and keeps people at the center.

That future is already taking shape, and we are committed to building it together.

Justin Spelhaug leads Microsoft Elevate, a global initiative helping education, workforce and nonprofit organizations expand opportunity and help prepare people for the AI economy. During his 28 years at Microsoft, he has held leadership roles advancing technology’s impact for people and communities. He began his career serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

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The first-of-its-kind agreement on the heels of New York City Public Schools’ screens and AI ban, ensures that tech companies cannot use student data to train AI, students can never be tracked, AI cannot make decisions without human oversight, and companies must give educators and parents transparency and plain-language answers about how their tools work. U.S. school districts can incorporate these protections directly into their Microsoft customer agreements, making them contractually enforceable.

“We have forged a hard-fought, iron-clad privacy agreement with real teeth that protects students and families, because no one else, including the federal government, has stepped up to do the real work,” Weingarten said. “We can get angrier and angrier, or we can act decisively; anything less than legally enforceable provisions is simply a wish list.”

Weingarten continued, “This agreement ensures three foundational goals: protect the privacy and data of children, give schools real control over AI tools in the classroom, and provide transparency and information to parents. And with New York City adopting our framework to ban screens and AI use in the younger years, this agreement adds to the momentum around online safety for kids and educators.”

In a May speech, “Devices Down, Eyes Up, Hands-On,” Weingarten flagged her fight for an enforceable data privacy standard and called for a total screen ban from kindergarten through second grade, a ban on student-facing AI in elementary school and a ban on social companion chat bots for students under 16. A similar framework has been adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the New York State United Teachers (the AFT’s state affiliate), and last week, New York City Public Schools and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

“This standard sets a high bar for child privacy and AI safety, and we’ll extend this agreement to every school district across the country,” said Microsoft’s Smith.

At its core, the agreement turns shared principles into clear, enforceable protections centered on three priorities:

Protecting privacy: Educators, parents and students can have confidence that data remains theirs. Student and educator data will not be used to train AI models, sold or repurposed, and schools will maintain control over how data is used, retained and deleted.

Enhancing safety: Students and educators are protected by strong security, safeguards and human oversight. AI systems must be designed to avoid harmful or manipulative experiences, protect sensitive information, and meet rigorous standards for security, accountability and responsible use.
Providing transparency and control: Families can expect clear, accessible information about how AI is being used in schools and their safeguards, including what data is collected and what protections are in place. Schools retain control over when and how AI is used, and companies need to communicate clearly about product changes, risks and controls.

“Educators are stepping in to do what we do best: protect our students. This agreement gives families and school districts the information and privacy protections they have been demanding, and it empowers school districts to end agreements and seek damages from bad actors who break the rules. It starts to level the playing field in a competitive, ever-changing arena that lacks the guardrails our children and school communities need,” said the UFT’s Mulgrew, who leads the 200,000-member New York City AFT affiliate.

In 2024, the AFT released its “Commonsense Guardrails for Using Advanced Technology in Schools,” which established nine core principles to ensure students and families were informed and protected. And last year, it announced the creation of the National Academy for AI Instruction, which enables educators to access training on the use and misuse of AI tools rather than being treated like an afterthought, as so often happens with changes in education technology. Led by educators, the academy allows teachers not only to become proficient with the emerging technology but to be diligent about student safety and privacy.

“HIPAA and FERPA never envisioned the advent of AI,” Weingarten said, “and in the absence of those protections, tech companies need to take responsibility for the products they create and market to students, educators and communities.”

A fact sheet on the agreement can be viewed here, and the full agreement can be viewed here.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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For many education IT teams, the challenge is translating security priorities into action while managing limited time, budget, and staff capacity. Enrollment systems, student records, research data, and institution-owned and personal devices can create a broad security environment for a small team to manage.

Adding another tool is not always the first or only answer. Institutions can begin by reviewing capabilities available through their existing licenses, determining which are appropriate for their environment, and communicating deployment progress and remaining gaps to budget decision-makers.

Start with what you already have

There is a meaningful difference between owning a security capability and running it. Microsoft 365 Education licenses include protection across identity, endpoints, information, access, device compliance, and data loss prevention, and the depth of those controls increases across the A SKUs. Whichever license you hold, the question worth asking this term is the same: are the protections you are entitled to configured, tuned, and monitored?

This is not a judgment about how any team is doing its job. Configuration gaps can develop for understandable reasons, including staff changes, competing priorities, and extended migrations. Reviewing the capabilities available under your current licensing may identify opportunities to strengthen your security posture without adding another product.

Match protection to the problems you are solving

Feature lists alone may not help a stretched team prioritize the next step. Starting with common scenarios can make the discussion more actionable. The four examples below point to areas your institution may choose to assess first.

1. “We are seeing more identity risk.”

Compromised credentials are still the most common way into an education environment, and campus life makes it worse: shared accounts, seasonal staff, alumni access that was never revoked, and students who reuse passwords everywhere. Start with the identity and access controls you already have. Multifactor authentication, risk-based sign-in policies, and conditional access rules that adapt to the situation will close more real attack paths—and more quickly—than almost anything else on the list.

2. “We have devices everywhere.”

Institution-owned devices, personal laptops, lab machines, and shared classroom devices may access the same institutional resources. Device compliance and endpoint protection capabilities can help institutions define and enforce access requirements. Depending on the policies configured, a device that does not meet those requirements may be restricted from accessing specified resources.

3. “Sensitive data is moving where we cannot see it.”

Student records, health-related information, and research data may be subject to institutional policies and legal or regulatory obligations. Available information protection capabilities can help classify and protect files, while data loss prevention policies can help identify or restrict specified activities. Confirm the relevant product behavior, policy configuration, data locations, licensing, and required user or administrator actions before deployment.

4. “Leaders want to know whether our investment is still worth it.”

This can be a communication challenge as much as a technical one. Rather than presenting only a list of included products, consider showing the risks addressed, capabilities deployed, progress made, and remaining opportunities. The assessment tools in the next section may help structure that conversation, subject to validation of what each assessment measures and reports.

If more than one of these sounds familiar, consider prioritizing them rather than addressing all four at once.

Understand your posture without a six-week assessment

Microsoft describes Zero Trust through three principles: verify explicitly, use least-privilege access, and assume breach. Institutions can assess how current practices align with these principles before prioritizing next steps.

The Zero Trust maturity assessment asks questions across security areas and provides assessment outputs and recommendations. Review the current assessment experience to verify its scope, outputs, terminology, and availability before publication.

The security and value optimization self-assessment can help organizations review available capabilities and deployment considerations. Verify the assessment’s current inputs, outputs, eligibility, and licensing logic before describing the results it provides.

These assessments do something different from a reference resource like the Microsoft Education Security Toolkit. The toolkit is where you go for depth once you know what you are solving for. The assessments can help you find out what to solve for, because they respond to your environment rather than describing every environment. Use them together: assess first, then pull the toolkit guidance that matches what the assessment surfaced.

Where AI and agentic security fit

AI is changing the security landscape. Threat actors may use AI to increase the speed and scale of their activities, while security teams can use AI-assisted capabilities to support investigation and response. Microsoft is developing security capabilities that analyze signals and assist with actions across security workflows.

Microsoft Security Copilot brings that assistance into everyday operations, helping small teams investigate and respond without a large security operations center behind them. Project Perception goes further: it is a multi-agent security system that coordinates red team agents to expose vulnerabilities, blue team agents to detect and investigate, and green team agents to remediate and harden posture, with humans approving the decisions that matter.

These capabilities may be appropriate for institutions whose security needs, operational readiness, licensing, and budget align with the offerings. Confirm the current purchase model and commercial terms before referring to consumption-based pricing. AI-assisted and agentic capabilities should be presented as complementing, rather than replacing, foundational identity, device, and data protection practices.

Where to start this term

• Run the Zero Trust maturity assessment with your security lead and pick the lowest-scoring pillar.

• Run the value optimization self-assessment to see what you are already entitled to but not yet using.

• Check out the best practices in the Microsoft Education Security Toolkit.

• Discuss the results with your Microsoft account team or qualified partner, and document prioritized actions, owners, dependencies, and target dates.

Quantify what stronger security is worth. In Forrester’s commissioned TEI studies, the composite higher education institution saw a 20% reduction in significant breaches and a 30% reduction in the cost of remaining incidents, worth $1.2 million over three years, while the composite K‑12 system saw breaches drop 20% and remediation costs fall 25%, worth over $776,000. See the HED and K-12 studies.

Security investments may be easier to communicate when leaders can see capabilities deployed, risks addressed, and next priorities. An assessment can provide a useful starting point for that conversation, and its results should be reviewed alongside your institution’s environment, licensing, and security requirements.

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That shift is particularly challenging in education. A single institution may support instruction, assessment, advising, financial aid, research, safety, and IT, each with different systems, records, and access requirements. Add student privacy obligations and academic integrity expectations, and a general-purpose AI experience may lack the context and controls required for institutional use.

Closing that gap requires both relevant institutional context and safeguards for how information is accessed and used. Microsoft 365 Education is designed to bring those elements together, helping institutions move from isolated AI experimentation toward practical, governed use.

Agentic classroom support

Consider what a week actually looks like for an educator. Planning, differentiation, and assessment each live in different places, and none of those systems were designed to talk to one another. The result is repetitive, operational work that piles up between a teacher and their students. 

This is where agents change the equation. Rather than another tool to open, classroom agents work across the systems an educator already uses, helping streamline planning, differentiation, and assessment as connected work rather than separate tasks. Drafting differentiated versions of a lesson for different reading levels, assembling materials aligned to a unit, and pulling assessment results into a picture of who needs help, become part of one flow.

The measure of success isn’t the automation itself. It’s what the automation gives back: time for educators to spend on instruction and with students, which is where their impact is greatest. That’s the promise of AI built for teaching and learning, grounded in real instructional workflows rather than generic productivity.

Connecting the student experience

Fragmented information can also create challenges across the student journey. A student navigating advising, financial aid, accessibility services, and academic support may need to repeat information across several offices. Each additional handoff can add friction at a point when timely, coordinated support matters. 

With shared context across student services, support can feel more connected throughout the student journey. Students encounter fewer handoffs and receive help that reflects where they are, from orientation to moments when they may need additional support to continue their studies. Behind the scenes, staff have the context to coordinate a more timely response, helping the institution reduce administrative friction while better supporting each student. 

The outcome institutions are after here isn’t operational efficiency alone. The broader objective is to reduce administrative friction and help staff provide more coordinated, timely support throughout the student journey. 

The foundation: Intelligence, governance, and trust

A capable AI model is only one part of an institution-ready experience. Relevant context, governance, and clearly defined human oversight also matter.

Intelligence provides relevant context for AI experiences. Microsoft IQ is the intelligence layer across Microsoft’s AI capabilities, and Work IQ draws on the Microsoft 365 data, relationships, and workflows a user is permitted to access. This context can help Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents surface relevant information from sources such as files, email, messages, and meetings within the institution’s Microsoft 365 environment. 

Governance comes from the Microsoft 365 platform your institution already administers: identity, permissions, compliance, and data protection, applied consistently to Copilot and to agents. The institutional knowledge this intelligence draws on is your data. It stays yours, under your control and governance.

Trust is what makes the first two usable in a school. Microsoft 365 permissions and governance controls help limit access to information a user is authorized to use. Institutions should configure, monitor, and review Copilot and agent experiences in accordance with their privacy, security, and academic-integrity requirements.

Together these deliver what education asks of AI: that it be built for teaching and learning, that it work in the flow of education rather than in a separate destination, and that it provide a trusted academic experience institutions can stand behind.

Matching capability to readiness

Institutions begin from different levels of AI readiness. Microsoft 365 Education offers several ways to get started and expand use over time, based on an institution’s priorities, licensing, governance, and technical readiness.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included in Microsoft 365 and is where many institutions begin, offering educators and staff a secure, everyday AI experience. Microsoft 365 Copilot provides a richer, more relevant experience by bringing AI into the Microsoft 365 apps where teaching, learning, research, and operations already happen. It also enables institutions to delegate multi-step work to agents, choosing the capabilities that best fit their needs and readiness.

That progression matters because it lets institutions invest where capability is needed most, adding as governance and readiness mature rather than committing everywhere at once.

There’s a similar logic behind how we approach models. Model choice is another consideration. In supported Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences, organizations may have access to different models for different types of work, subject to availability and administrator controls. The more useful question is not simply which model is newest, but which supported experience best fits the task, the institution’s requirements, and the applicable data-processing terms.

Where to start

None of this requires a large rollout to begin. 

• Start with what’s already in place. Copilot Chat is included in Microsoft 365, which means most institutions already have a secure place to begin.
• Pick one workflow. Choose a single sequence where the cost is visible such as an educator’s planning time, a student handoff that loses momentum, or an administrative process that consumes staff effort, and start there rather than everywhere. 
• Let governance grow with usage. Expand capability as your controls and confidence mature, rather than committing across the institution at once. 

Education’s complexity is not something to design around. It is the reality AI must be designed for. Microsoft is focused on bringing together relevant context, institutional controls, and flexible ways to begin, so schools can explore AI on terms that reflect their needs and responsibilities.

¹ Microsoft, AI in Education: A Microsoft Special Report, 2026.

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Your students already use AI, so the question is what kind

AI adoption in education is accelerating worldwide. In Microsoft’s 2026 global research, 92% of students say they have already used AI for school-related purposes, and more than half of education leaders report their institutions are now implementing or scaling it.¹ Students reach for AI to summarize dense material, get unstuck, and brainstorm. About a third say they use it to learn or study in the way that works best for them. Students are already bringing AI habits into the learning environment. The opportunity is to help ensure that AI supports deeper understanding and learning.

Not every AI tool is built for that. Some AI experiences emphasize quick answers, while others are designed to guide learners through a process. Faced with that, some institutions have limited or blocked AI access altogether, even as students keep using it on personal devices. Restricting access does not necessarily prevent students from encountering AI outside school. It only removes your ability to shape how they use it, and it leaves learners with unmanaged tools and no guardrails.

Mind the gap between guidance and lived experience

There is a second gap worth closing: the distance between what leaders provide and what students and teachers experience. Four in five education leaders rate their institution’s AI guidance as clear, yet only about half of students and teachers say it has been provided at all. The training gap is wider still. In the same research, 77% of students and 53% of educators report no AI training, even while 66% of educators and 52% of students ask for it at least quarterly.² The findings suggest that support and training are not keeping pace with AI adoption.

Study and Learn keeps the thinking with the student

Study and Learn is a first-party agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, purpose-built for education. Rather than emphasizing a finished answer, it is designed to guide learners through the process. A student preparing for a biology test can generate a flashcard set on the spot. A student working through a calculus problem can receive step-by-step support that encourages problem solving. A student drafting a history essay can talk through the argument and get questions in return that sharpen it. It works from a student’s own documents, slides, and PDFs, with citations back to the source.

What sets it apart is that it is grounded in learning science, not just AI. The experience is designed around learning-science principles intended to reinforce learning:

1. Adaptive scaffolding: Meeting students where they are, then stretching them toward what comes next.
2. Productive struggle: Leading with questions so students retrieve, attempt, and reason toward answers.
3. Active learning: Retrieval practice through flashcards, quizzes, matching, and fill-in-the-blank exercises.
4. Application and transfer: Giving students the agency to go deeper, apply what they have learned, or reinforce it.

Together, these principles are intended to encourage more active engagement with learning content. To see the research base for that design, read the learning science paper.

Study and Learn also runs inside the Microsoft 365 environment your school already manages, with enterprise-grade privacy and responsible AI protections built in. To see what it offers your students, find out more about Study and Learn.

The students aren’t just asking for answers. They’re asking Copilot Chat better questions, and that’s a major shift.

Shane Tooley, Assistant Principal Curriculum, St. Peter Claver College, Australia³

How to enable Study and Learn for students

Here is the practical part. Study and Learn is available with eligible Microsoft 365 Education licenses, including A1, A3, and A5. It has one prerequisite: Copilot Chat must be turned on. For student accounts in primary and secondary education, Copilot Chat is off by default, and only an IT administrator can enable it, using age-gating controls for learners aged 13 to 17. Without that setting, your students cannot reach Study and Learn. Copilot Chat is not available for students under 13.

That makes enabling it a shared decision. You set the learning priorities; your technical leaders hold the controls. Bring them the evidence and discuss whether enabling Copilot Chat is appropriate for your institution. A strong place to start the conversation is the AI in Education report.

Why this matters for the students you serve

The stakes reach well past this term. LinkedIn research finds that about 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change between 2015 and 2030, with AI as the catalyst. The share of job postings that require AI literacy also rose sixfold in a single year.⁴ Students recognize this shift as well. In our research, 79% of students say that knowing how to use AI effectively and responsibly matters for their future, and 87% of educators and leaders agree. Giving students access to learning-first AI experiences can help them develop the skills needed to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly.⁵

Turn on the AI that’s built for learning

Your students are already using AI. Institutions have an opportunity to influence how AI supports learning. Study and Learn keeps the thinking with the student. It provides a learning-focused experience that may already be available through your Microsoft 365 Education environment once the appropriate settings are configured. Show your technical leaders the research and ask them to turn on Copilot Chat.

^{1, 2, 3, 5} Microsoft Education. AI in Education: A Microsoft Special Report. 2026. Available at: AI in Education Report.
⁴ LinkedIn Work Change Report (2025), cited in AI in Education: A Microsoft Special Report, Microsoft Education. 2026, Available at: AI in Education Report.

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For many educators, this time of year offers a chance to reflect on what they’ve learned, recharge for what’s ahead, and reimagine what’s possible in education. At ISTELive 2026 in Orlando, K–12 educators, librarians, school leaders, instructional coaches, and edtech innovators came together to do exactly that.

The Orange County Convention Center was buzzing with activity, with thousands of presenters, hundreds of sessions, hands-on labs, and keynotes. Across these conversations, one common theme emerged: educators are beginning to explore how AI can move from early experimentation into more practical classroom and institutional use.

Microsoft’s ISTELive 26 announcements highlight this shift: AI in education is moving beyond experimentation and toward measurable learning impact. From the new AI in Education Report to purpose-built experiences like Teach, Assignments with AI guidelines, Learning Zone, and the Study and Learn Agent, Microsoft’s focus stayed on helping educators teach with confidence and students learn more deeply, not just faster. The throughline: AI delivers the most in education when powerful, secure tools are paired with training, guidance, and research-backed learning science that supports how students build knowledge, engage in productive practice, and deepen their understanding.

Six takeaways from a week of learning and connection

For educators, the value of events like ISTE is often found not just in announcements, but in what they bring back and try in their own environments. Here are six themes we heard from educators about what they plan to carry forward:

1. Access to AI tools is just the beginning, community drives impact

Microsoft Elevate for Educators is a global community of 43,000+ teachers and school leaders on the cutting edge of technology integration. At ISTELive 26, we brought some of them together to share tips, celebrate progress, and strengthen connections. As Pat Yongpradit, General Manager of Global Education and Workforce Policy, reminded us at our evening reception, “The world really needs great teachers right now.” Microsoft is focused on supporting them. Microsoft Elevate for Educators offers community, credentials and capacity-building resources to help transform teaching and learning.

2. Instructional leaders are looking for practical guidance and shared practices

At the Instructional Leadership Exchange (ILX), educators and leaders explored how AI could be thoughtfully introduced into school environments. Through discussions and peer exchange, participants considered approaches to implementation, professional development, and collaboration. Microsoft also introduced a new paper called Learning by design, outlining the learning science foundation behind the Study and Learn Agent, offering a practical resource leaders can use to inform discussions about how AI can support deeper learning, strengthen instructional practice, and shape more intentional professional learning.

3. Institutions are moving from fragmented AI use to responsible, system-wide practice

A recurring theme at ISTE was the move from individual experimentation toward more coordinated, institution-level approaches. Educators and leaders discussed the importance of aligning AI use with teaching practices, governance considerations, and institutional priorities. The Microsoft AI in Education Report shares perspectives from educators and institutions on how AI is being used, where opportunities exist, and what supports may be helpful going forward. These insights can help inform planning and decision-making as schools continue to navigate AI adoption.

4. Educators play a critical role in helping students develop AI literacy, making it approachable helps

Minecraft Education brought AI learning to life at ISTE with the announcement of the Velocity Prize, a new global skills challenge from Minecraft Education and Microsoft for students ages 13–16 built around computational thinking and AI-assisted strategies. The challenge opens in October 2026 and gives educators a fun, classroom-ready way for students to apply their coding and AI skills for the chance to win exclusive prizes and mentorship opportunities. Minecraft Education also highlighted new AI literacy and digital safety resources that make AI concepts accessible for educators, students, and families, from animated videos and classroom toolkits to professional learning.

Discover why Minecraft is a practical starting point to build AI skills.

5. From screen time to learning time: A focus on meaningful learning and responsible use

At ISTE, teachers are reframing the screen time conversation. Rather than focusing on how much time students spend on devices, they’re asking how technology can make learning more meaningful. Educators are looking for tools that help students think critically, create, collaborate, and receive personalized support while maintaining a focus on wellbeing and responsible AI use. At Microsoft Education, we see this as a shift from screen time to learning time using AI and technology to strengthen student thinking, increase engagement, and help every learner thrive.

6. From the conference to the classroom: Sharing what we learned

Educators often return from ISTE with ideas and strategies to share with colleagues, extending the value of the event beyond a single week. To support this, Microsoft is making sessions and materials available for educators who want to explore further. You can view recordings and materials from Microsoft ISTE sessions and explore live presentations designed to bring these ideas into your classroom.

Beyond Orlando: Keeping the momentum going

ISTELive 2026 showed how educators are continuing to explore and apply AI in ways that align with their teaching goals and student needs. While the event may be over, many of these conversations are ongoing.

To continue exploring these topics:

• Watch ISTE session recordings: Microsoft ISTE presentations
• Read the AI in Education Report
• Learn more about Microsoft 365 Education
• Join Microsoft Elevate for Educators

Wherever you are in your journey, these resources can help support continued learning, collaboration, and exploration.

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Education has moved past early experimentation, but reaching the outcomes that matter, those beyond speed and efficiency, depends first on one thing: support. The latest Microsoft AI in Education Report highlights this need. 66% of educators and 52% of students want monthly or quarterly AI training, and many want clearer guidance on responsible use. With that support in place, AI built for learning can help support learning outcomes, not just save time.

That’s why today we’re announcing several new AI-powered teaching capabilities, built with educator feedback, to deliver secure, student-centered experiences grounded in learning science. These new capabilities are integrated into the apps and tools educators and students already use through Microsoft 365 Education, with built-in privacy and security protections that help institutions take a more consistent, trusted approach. In addition, we’re also expanding access to training and professional learning. 

New teaching experiences, built with educators 

Feedback from our Education Insiders Program directly shaped a new set of teaching capabilities built into educator daily workflows across Microsoft 365 Education. These aren’t just productivity enhancements; they’re intelligent experiences designed to support the way educators instruct. These features are rolling out to our preview communities now and will be generally available in the coming months: 

• Teach in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app module will include the ability to easily build standards-aligned Unit Plans, with support for academic standards from over 50 countries. Educators provide the subject, grade level, language, duration, and any relevant context or content, and Teach generates a draft Unit Plan with an overview, essential questions, and weekly detail. From there, educators refine the draft, adding components like a materials list, lesson plans, assessments, and AI-generated suggestions. And with Teach, educators can keep going after the plan is built, following recommended next steps to generate supporting materials or continuing to iterate with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
• Assignments will help enable educators to set Student AI Guidelines for each Assignment, ranging from no AI to full use of Copilot Chat. According to the report, academic integrity is the top concern for both students (41%) and educators (42%), and clear communication around expectations is one of the most effective ways to build trust and confidence in AI use.
  
  Additionally, educators can further differentiate their approach by creating, reusing, or adjusting student groups based on reading level, language support, and other criteria, assigning the right resources to each group within an Assignment.
• Microsoft Learning Zone will offer the ability to use lessons in an educator-paced, live classroom session to help provide control over progression and view aggregated student activity in near real-time. Learning Zone lessons can also now be integrated with Assignments. Plus, for the next year, we’re providing an opportunity to trial Learning Zone lesson generation on any Windows 11 device.  

From answer engine to learning coach 

Study and Learn Agent is a learning-science-powered experience in Copilot Chat built specifically for students age 13 and older, at no additional cost with Microsoft 365 Education. Study and Learn reframes AI from an answer engine into an interactive learning coach, optimized for learning outcomes rather than quick answers. Grounded in research-based principles, it helps students understand concepts, work through problems, and develop their writing without AI doing the work for them—through scaffolded questions, interactive practice like flashcards, quizzes, and matching, and immediate feedback designed to support knowledge retention and independent thinking. 

Study and Learn is designed to meet institutions where they are with flexibility and appropriate controls: IT administrators must first enable Copilot Chat for K-12 students which then provides access to Study and Learn by default. In the coming months, educators will also be able to assign the use of Study and Learn within Assignments. 

Copilot Notebooks, an AI-powered workspace that is designed to help students stay focused on their own materials, is now available as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot app at no additional cost with Microsoft 365 Education. Students can bring together lecture slides, handouts, readings, and notes, then get assistance grounded directly in those sources. They can also use the new study guide capabilities to transform their materials into interactive study guides for review and self-testing. 

Across these experiences, students can remain in control of their own learning with privacy protections built in to support responsible use. 

We’re also making these teaching and learning experiences easier to access with Teach and Learn taskbar shortcuts on Windows devices for quick, personalized access right from the taskbar. And for leaders and IT teams, these experiences are designed for institution-wide rollout—with the governance, security, and integration needed to deploy with greater confidence. 

Preparing students and educators for what’s next 

Teachers and education leaders are overwhelmingly asking for training and increased AI knowledge, and the stakes are clear: 87% of educators and education leaders, and 79% of students, agree that knowing how to use AI effectively and responsibly is important for students’ futures. That takes more than access to technology. Microsoft Elevate for Educators offers community, credentials, and capacity building resources to help teachers and school leaders transform learning and teaching. Microsoft has supported the AI Literacy Framework developed by the European Commission and OECD with CodeAI to offer policymakers, curriculum designers, and teachers a shared playbook for what students should know, do, and understand about AI by the time they finish school. We also worked with ISTE + ASCD on a recently released “AI Literacy for Educators” credential pathway aligned to the framework. Both connect to the Expert tier of Microsoft Elevate for Educators, now accepting applications. 

As we celebrate new graduates, reflect on the progress and learnings, and prepare for the next school year, our focus stays constant: helping every student and educator use AI with confidence, to support learning today and prepare for what comes next. 

¹ Microsoft, AI in Education: A Microsoft Special Report, 2026. The survey was conducted by PSB Insights among 3,345 respondents across K–12 and higher education in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. Audiences included educators, education leaders (both IT and academic), and students age 13 and up. The online quantitative survey was fielded February 13–March 9. Global data is weighted based on World Bank education spend estimates.  

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For educators, it’s an opportunity to further shape the future.

Success in education has always depended on the interplay of knowledge, aptitudes, and skills. Skilling is the capability that turns new technology into confident, trusted practice. The question isn’t whether to prepare students for an AI-shaped world. It’s how to do it in a way that keeps human flourishing, not just employability, at the center.

Work is changing. People are not.

This line, drawn from the report’s conclusion, is worth holding onto. Technologies will keep shifting. What endures is distinctly human: curiosity, judgment, the capacity to learn and relearn, and the wisdom to apply knowledge well. The OECD makes the same case in its 2025 framework, Education for Human Flourishing, which argues that education should help every learner live “a life they have reason to value,” moving beyond a narrow human-capital view of schooling.¹

Together, the reports point to a consistent pattern: today’s labor market increasingly rewards people who can apply their intelligence and adapt to context and continue learning. Thus, education’s enduring purpose is to develop and refine those skills and dispositions.

Five new fundamentals reshaping what it means to be ready

The OECD report identifies five shifts quietly redrawing the line between “entry-level” and “experienced.” For schools and universities, the report points to building AI readiness not just through access to technology, but through human capabilities, governance, and practical experience that help AI work responsibly.

1. Elevated entry-level expectations
2. Working with AI as a partner to become an “agent boss”
3. Context engineering
4. Judgment, voice, and the human standard
5. From credentials to capabilities

Grounding skills in human flourishing

If those five fundamentals describe what the workplace now rewards, the OECD framework describes the human foundation underneath them. It centers on acting in the world with the agency to shape one’s life and contribute to others. This is supported by four competencies:

• Adaptive problem-solving
• Ethical competence
• Understanding the world
• Appreciating the world

The overlap is striking. “Context engineering” and the “agent boss” mindset are adaptive problem-solving in a new medium. “Judgment and the human standard” is ethical competence made practical. Building skills for the future of work and educating for a flourishing life are not competing goals; done well, they are the same work.

What this looks like in classrooms today

This isn’t theoretical. Schools and universities are already turning these ideas into everyday practice—and the early results are encouraging.

• At Fulton County Schools, students are using AI as a thought partner to explore ideas, build confidence, and tackle real-world problems—shifting learning from using technology to creating with it across a district serving nearly 87,000 learners.
• At the University of Sydney, the “Cogniti” platform lets educators design AI tools that guide students through reasoning—a working example of teaching students to direct AI, not just use it.
• The University of California San Diego, redesigned an introductory computer science course around GitHub Copilot—helping students complete coding tasks faster, build more ambitious projects, and develop practical AI skills for the workplace.

Across K-12 and higher education, the pattern is the same: AI is embedded into everyday learning and teaching, building the literacy and adaptability employers describe as “skilled for life.”

Empowering educators to foster these skills is one of the goals of the Microsoft Elevate for Educators program. It is designed to provide educators and school leaders with access to a global community, credentials, and skilling opportunities to confidently integrate AI into teaching and learning.

The road to ISTELive 2026

Knowing which skills matter is the first step. Building them, at scale, is the next. Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog posts which get specific about the products and programs that help educators put this skilling intent into practice—from classroom-ready AI tools to professional learning that meets educators where they are.

Equip your students with essential AI skills

Preparing students for the future of work

Get the e-book

¹ OECD, Education for Human Flourishing: A Conceptual Framework, November 7, 2025, CC BY 4.0.

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The advanced recognition application window for the 2026–2027 academic year begins today and will remain open through July 31, 2026. If you’re driving innovation in learning and empowering your colleagues and students with new possibilities, now is the time to gain recognition for your leadership.

About Microsoft Elevate for Educators

Microsoft Elevate for Educators connects teachers and school leaders with a global community of peers, credentials, and capacity building resources to navigate the AI era. Educators can collaborate, learn from each other and industry experts, gain confidence through laddered pathways for training and credentialing, and explore toolkits, research, and guidance designed to help safely integrate technology into teaching and learning.

Global program overview and office hours

Join the Microsoft Elevate for Educators team for informational sessions designed to support your journey with the community. These sessions provide an overview of the program, highlight opportunities for educators and school leaders at every level, and introduce the resources available to support you, your school, and your students. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions about the application process for Expert and Showcase School recognition. These sessions are recommended for K–12 educators and school leaders.

Educators: Join a global community of experts

Experts in the educator community share a bold commitment to transforming learning. They spark curiosity, encourage collaboration, and bring creativity to life through purposeful use of Microsoft tools and AI in classrooms. If this reflects the way you teach, you’re exactly the kind of leader Microsoft Elevate for Educators is proud to recognize. By joining the global community of more than 43,000 educators, you’ll connect with innovative educators worldwide, exchange ideas, strengthen your practice, and help shape the future of teaching and learning.

How to become a Microsoft Elevate Educator Expert

1. If you are new to the community, start by creating an account, completing your first training, and earning Explorer status. From there, you’ll be ready to begin the advanced recognition application for Expert status.
2. Prepare your long-form answers with the Microsoft Elevate Educator Expert questions document.
3. Complete required learning:
   • Elevate Educator—Expert (General)
   • Elevate Educator—Expert (AI)
4. Complete and submit your application by July 31, 2026.

School leaders: Join a global community of Showcase Schools

If your school is driving meaningful innovation, becoming a Microsoft Elevate Showcase School can amplify that work. Showcase Schools use technology to empower teaching, transform learning, and equip students with the skills they need to thrive in the future.

How to become a Microsoft Elevate Showcase School

1. If you are new to the community, start by creating an account and becoming a Pathfinder school. Then, you’ll be ready to begin the advanced recognition application to earn Showcase School status.
2. Check the AI Transformation Rubric to confirm your school meets the minimum criteria:
   • Level 2 in Policy and Governance
   • Level 1 in at least two other areas
3. Download and draft the Showcase form questions. Complete the Showcase Evidence Template (slide 3), demonstrating how your school meets the required level for your chosen pillar. Export the completed slide as a PDF.
4. Complete the application, including your AI transformation evidence and a PDF of your completed Showcase Evidence Template where required by July 31, 2026.

Embrace the future of education

The future of learning is unfolding now, and bold educators are leading the way. Becoming a Microsoft Elevate Showcase School or Microsoft Elevate Educator Expert isn’t just about recognition, it’s about joining a global community that is reshaping what’s possible in education.

Microsoft Elevate empowers schools and educators with the tools, insights, and support needed to spark creativity, strengthen collaboration, and expand access to meaningful learning opportunities.

By joining the Microsoft Elevate Educator community, you become part of a global network of changemakers imagining and building the next era of education. If you’re ready to dream big and lead with purpose, we invite you to join our community and apply for advanced recognition.

Stay connected with Microsoft

Stay up to date on the latest news and resources from the Microsoft Elevate for Educators team.

• Follow us on LinkedIn
• Discover curated events and learning experiences for educators
• Get AI insights for education decision-makers

From simplifying operations to fostering meaningful engagement and driving innovation, Microsoft provides education institutions with tools and resources to excel in a competitive, digital-first world. Learn how you can empower your entire community of students, educators, and staff to achieve better outcomes today and prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow.

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Building a governance framework designed for trust

Behind almost every effective AI governance framework is a group of people responsible for making it work. In education, that typically means a cross-functional team that goes beyond IT, drawing on perspectives from across the institution, including academic leadership, legal and compliance, and those responsible for student data and ethical decision-making. When that human structure is absent, even thoughtfully designed frameworks can be difficult to sustain. Once that team is in place, the real work of governance begins—defining the policies, conditions, and oversight structures that responsible AI requires.

That work is often grounded in a set of values that many education institutions share: student privacy, academic integrity, equitable access, and the ethical use of AI for learning. A clear framework for trust is what helps those values guide governance decisions in a consistent and accountable way.

Microsoft’s approach to trust is built on six responsible AI principles: fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard, v2 translates those principles into practical guidance designed to help education leaders work toward a structured foundation for responsible AI adoption. For institutions that want to go further, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF) offers a complementary lens: where the Standard defines what responsible AI looks like, the AI RMF helps put it into practice across four functions—Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage.

While frameworks provide structure, one of the most important outputs of governance is clear, actionable policy. Policy conversations often start with a few foundational topics your institution can begin discussing right away:

• AI usage policies and how they apply across roles, from administrators and IT staff to educators and students.
• Identity management and role-based access controls for sensitive data.
• Monitoring and compliance approaches that can evolve as the technology changes.
• The right balance between human oversight and automation for high-stakes decisions.

Having these conversations lays the groundwork, but the technology foundation underneath it plays a significant role in how well governance holds up over time.

Security that scales with your AI environment

Governance and security tend to rise and fall together. The decisions a governing team makes about who can use AI and under what conditions are only as effective as the technology infrastructure built to support them. For many institutions, that technology has been built up over time by layering tools as needs arose, and in an AI-powered world, that approach can create gaps that may be harder to govern, monitor, and maintain trust in.

For IT teams managing AI governance, Microsoft 365 Education plans offer a range of security solutions that can be part of a broader governance approach, including:

• Microsoft Entra for identity and access management that can help keep sensitive data in the right hands.
• Microsoft Purview for data monitoring and automated compliance support.
• Microsoft Defender can help detect and respond to threats across your environment.

Together, these solutions can help organizations improve visibility and strengthen control over data and AI usage within their environment. When your security foundation is built into the same platform your AI tools run on, governance can become easier to manage and more proactive.

That kind of integrated foundation is closely connected to the third piece: a unified platform that reduces fragmentation and supports responsible AI at scale.

One platform, fewer governance gaps

IT leaders are increasingly exploring unified platforms as an alternative to disconnected systems, drawn by the promise of end-to-end visibility and reduced administrative burden. When AI tools, security solutions, and governance controls operate on the same platform, responsible AI becomes easier to sustain because oversight is built in rather than managed separately. Microsoft 365 Education plans are designed with this in mind, bringing together a range of tools institutions can use to govern AI, protect data, and support learning, all in a single integrated environment.

For institutions managing AI at scale, that integration can be what turns governance from a concept into a practice. The Puerto Rico Department of Education is one example. For them, existing systems and security tools could no longer keep pace with growing complexity. Recognizing that, the Department undertook a strategic transformation, pursuing advanced, unified tools to address operational, security, and educational priorities.

We urgently needed a modern, integrated solution to support remote learning and safeguard sensitive information.

Marie Ortiz Sánchez, Chief Information Officer, Puerto Rico Department of Education

Responsible AI governance was central to that effort, and with Microsoft’s security infrastructure in place, the department was confident in protecting student data as it scaled their AI initiative.

What successful IT leaders prioritize

Across education, patterns are emerging among some institutions working to scale AI responsibly, and they often reflect how IT leaders are approaching their role. They are shaping strategy, safeguarding trust, and driving the conditions that make responsible AI adoption possible. Translating that pattern into action means focusing on a few core priorities:

• Lead with governance, not just innovation.
• Prioritize secure, integrated platforms over fragmented tools.
• Enable your educators, not just your technology.
• Support consistent learning experiences across classrooms, campuses, and digital environments.
• Align your IT strategy with institutional mission and outcomes.

The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit includes AI Navigators that document how institutions are putting each of these priorities into practice, making it a useful starting point for leaders ready to move from discussion to action.

For many IT leaders, this moment presents a real opportunity to lead innovation, embed trust, and help your institution navigate a significant shift in education today. Governance, security, and platform integration are among the most important starting points for responsible AI. Explore Microsoft’s responsible AI tools and practices to learn more.

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