Short answer: it’s probably more than a name change, but it’s certainly not a revolution 🤔
You could be forgiven for thinking Elevate Educator is Microsoft’s replacement for Innovative Educator, and that Elevate Schools is simply the new name for Innovative or Showcase schools. In many ways, they are.
In my previous post, Nothing Is Different, But Everything’s Changed – Bett 26 Musings, I reflected on how familiar BETT 2026 felt on the surface, while at the same time signalling a shift beneath it all. Elevate, I think, serves as an excellent case in point. The Microsoft Education team at BETT were clearly talking it up, but for all the spin, it initially felt like business as usual under a more ai-focused title. Scratch the surface (no pun intended), though, and there are real changes…
In this post, ’m deliberately focusing on Elevate Schools. Not because Elevate Educator is less impactful, but because the changes to how schools enter, progress, and connect professional learning to wider strategy are where the most noticeable and arguably practical changes have happened.
What hasn’t really changed
If your school has engaged with Microsoft’s Innovative Educator or Showcase School programmes in the past, much of the underlying thinking behind Elevate Schools will feel familiar. At its core, the programme is still about:
- Schools using Microsoft tools in a deliberate, joined‑up way,
- A focus on teaching and learning rather than technology for its own sake, and
- Learning from, and contributing to, a wider network of schools.
Microsoft continues to frame this as a jouney, not a badge‑collecting exercise. That language is consistent with how the earlier programmes were positioned and remains front and centre on the Microsoft Elevate for Educators site.
Recognition also remains a core feature. Schools that move along the pathway are still recognised and connected with others doing similar work. What has changed is the structure around that journey.
What has changed?
One of the most noticeable shifts is that Elevate Schools is now clearly structured as a pathway, rather than a single destination. This is highlighted on the Elevate Schools landing page, where schools are described as moving through stages such as Pathfinder, for schools beginning their journey; Showcase, where practice is more embedded and visible; and Beacon, focused on leadership and influence at scale. This is a subtle but important change as Its recognises that schools are at different stages in their digital journeys, and that progress is incremental rather than all‑or‑nothing.
Another significant change is how school can join the programme, applications are now an ongoing process, with new schools able to apply to become Pathfinder schools year‑round. This alone makes the programme more accessible than earlier iterations.
There has also been a noticeable shift around professional learning. Elevate Schools and Elevate Educator are now more closely integrated, rather than operating as parallel programmes. Through the Microsoft Learn Educator Centre, schools and educators can access structured learning pathways, alongside recognition of professional learning at both individual and school level. The practical implication is that Elevate can sit more naturally within existing CPD, digital strategy, or school improvement planning, bringing community, professional development, and credentials together in a single framework.
And what about AI?
Unsurprisingly, it’s impossible to separate Elevate from AI with a clear shift here, with Microsoft’s schools and educator programmes now intrinsically linked to its broader AI‑focused education strategy. Alongside Elevate, Microsoft has introduced or expanded education‑specific tools such as Teach (covered previously) in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, Microsoft Learning Zone (Copilot+ PCS only) and a Study and Learn Agent for students.
In fairness, Elevate doesn’t present AI as something schools should simply adopt by default. Instead, it frames AI capability as something that needs to be developed through confidence, judgement, and professional learning, not just access to tools. Whether that balance holds in reality will depend entirely on how schools choose to engage with it.
Conclusion
In summary, Elevate is best seen as an evolution. It offers clearer starting points, more realistic progression, and tighter integration between technology use, professional learning, and classroom practice. For schools already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, it provides a more coherent structure than what existed before. For schools still undecided, or reluctant to commit fully to any one platform, the question remains the same: rebrand or real rethink? Probably a bit of both. The name has changed, but the route into and through the programme is clearer, and that alone is probably reason enough to take a closer look.