ASCD+ISTE Branding Report for Global-Reach - February 2026

GLOBAL REACH 2025 OUR INTERNATIONAL IMPACT Published on February 20, 2026

GLOBAL REACH 2025

INTRODUCTION As education systems worldwide grapple with rapid technological change, evolving workforce demands, and the promise of AI-enhanced learning, the need for trusted, research-backed guidance has never been greater. ISTE+ASCD's decades of expertise in educational technology integration and instructional excellence position us uniquely to support educators far beyond US borders.

In early 2025, we presented our International Strategic Plan to the Board—a roadmap for extending our impact to the millions of educators seeking the frameworks, professional development, and community we've been building and improving for decades. This expansion isn't simply about reaching new markets; it's about fulfilling our mission at the scale that today's interconnected world demands.

The path forward requires honest acknowledgment of the challenges inherent in international growth. Yet these challenges reveal tremendous opportunity. By listening to international partners and adapting our message and content for diverse educational landscapes, we're not just translating materials—we're strengthening the universal relevance of our work.

Spanish-language resources; region-specific AI teacher preparation; professional development models that respect local context. Each adaptation makes ISTE+ASCD more globally minded and ultimately more valuable to all the educators we serve.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

1

GLOBAL REACH 2025 The results from 2025 give us every reason for optimism. Strategic partnerships across our key regions; educational leaders gathering at conferences from South Korea to South America to learn about our frameworks, thought leadership & programs that bridge global best practices with local needs. We're seeing what's possible when we meet educators where they are.

2025 IN NUMBERS: 194

countries reached

50+ global partners engaged

16,000+

international educators directly impacted

Looking ahead, we have the opportunity to drive system-level transformation in education worldwide by co-creating approaches with international partners that elevate teaching and learning everywhere. This report highlights how we're turning that vision into reality.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS In 2025, we deepened partnerships and launched initiatives across four key regions, serving educators in their contexts and building foundations for lasting impact. Below are some of the most relevant activities by region, including international events we participated in.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

2

GLOBAL REACH 2025

EUROPE

United Kingdom ●

Bett: We hosted a three-day program at Bett 2025, in collaboration with AWS and EDT & Partners, engaging approximately 200 participants across government delegations, international school educators, and EdTech leaders. Our sessions addressed national digital education strategies, practical frameworks for AI-integrated curriculum innovation, and strategic technology procurement, leveraging the ISTE Standards and Transformational Learning Principles to reinforce our international relevance.

Ireland ●

Hibernia College: We welcomed the first European university to our Alliance for Innovation in Teacher Education. Through this partnership, Hibernia College will work to embed the ISTE Standards throughout its Professional Master of Education program and develop professional credentials that allow teacher candidates to demonstrate effective use of technology for learning.

Norway ●

ICEI: Based in Europe, the International Centre for Edtech Impact has achieved global reach through their EduEvidence framework for evaluating edtech impact. Our partnership includes data sharing between their EdTech Evidence List and our EdTech Index, facilitating joint webinars, and developing thought-leadership content, which allows us to boost visibility of our ISTE Seal and the Edtech Index.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

3

GLOBAL REACH 2025 Event participation: • •

UK: Bett Show (30,000+ attendees) - January.

France: Annual Member Meeting of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition - March.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Jamaica ●

Ministry of Education: In January 2025, we completed the capacity-building project that started in 2024 with the MOE and the Inter-American Development Bank to introduce the ISTE Standards to 90 educators. We also built the expertise of 60 educators through ISTE Certification and delivered a train-the-trainer model so they could continue introducing the ISTE Standards to educators country-wide.

Chile ●

Santillana: In March, 9 bilingual schools started the process to become ISTE Distinguished Schools, with 494 educators participating in ISTE Certification or ISTE U courses. These 9 schools will earn ‘Bronze’ status in early 2026. A group of 10 educators and leaders from these schools also had the opportunity to experience ISTELive/Annual Conference 2025 for the first time.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

4

GLOBAL REACH 2025 Colombia ISTE Distinguished Schools: In December, Colegio Americano de Bogotá became the first school globally to obtain the ISTE Distinguished School award, a recognition program delivered in exclusive partnership with Santillana for Latin America.

●

Mexico ●

AI Course for Prepa Tec: In August, a group of 35 educators from 30 campuses of Prepa Tec completed our Next Level AI Skills course in ISTE U. Prepa Tec is the high school division of Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico’s most prestigious private higher education institution and top 5 in Latin America.

●

Educator Certification for Prepa Tec: In October, a group of 60 educators, also from Prepa Tec, started the ISTE Educator Certification with the goal of earning their accreditation by ISTELive/Annual Conference 2026.

●

AI Hackathon: Also in October, our partnership with Prepa Tec allowed us to co-deliver a two-day in-person ‘AI Hackathon’ for 70 participants in Monterrey, Mexico. This initiative helped inspire educators from different campuses to mentor their students in creating AIpowered solutions to tackle social issues in their communities.

●

EdTech Teacher Certification: In December, a group of 20 educators from several bilingual schools, assembled by Pinion Education, started a pilot of our newest credential. They will become our first international certified EdTech Teachers.

Event participation: • • • •

Mexico: IFE Conference by Institute for the Future of Education and Tecnológico de Monterrey (3,000+ attendees) - January.

Colombia: Mesa Nacional de Educación Privada by Santillana - May. Peru: Congreso Richmond Solution by Santillana/Richmond - September.

Chile: Seminario Tecnología en la Educación by Santillana - October.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

5

GLOBAL REACH 2025

ASIA-PACIFIC

India ARISE: In January 2025, we signed an agreement with the Association for Reinventing School Education, one of the largest networks of schools in India, to collaborate in elevating the quality of education and leadership of their member schools. This includes providing customized experiences through our courses and events, and participation in their annual conference and webinars.

●

South Korea LearningSpark: In July, we signed a collaboration to bring the ISTE Seal to Korean edtech companies, supporting bilingual evaluation, localized materials, and market expansion while building Korea's edtech ecosystem.

●

Event participation: • • •

South Korea: Education Korea - January.

China: Global Smart Education Conference - August.

India: Arise School Education Conference - September.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

6

GLOBAL REACH 2025

MIDDLE EAST

United Arab Emirates ●

Ana Akhtar: A partnership to provide counselors and teachers from schools in the MENA region with professional development on Social, Emotional and Behavioral Learning, including access to Witsby for the 2025-2026 school year.

●

GESS Dubai: In September, we signed an agreement to become a global supporter of GESS Dubai 2025, the largest educational event in the MENA region. This partnership allowed us to present at their conference in November and give our brand visibility in one of our key regions through official GESS communication channels that reach an audience of over 30,000 followers.

Bahrain ●

Bahrain Teachers College: 273 teacher candidates were enrolled in our AI for Tomorrow’s Teachers course in Arabic in 2025.

Jordan ●

Queen Rania Teacher Academy: We signed an agreement to localize our AI training programs, professional development opportunities and content to strengthen educator capacity across Jordan and the broader Arab region. This partnership was fundamental in finalizing the Arabic version of our AI for Tomorrow’s Teacher course.

Event participation:

• UAE: GESS Dubai by Global Educational Supplies & Solutions - November.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

7

GLOBAL REACH 2025

KEY PROGRAMS

Joint Membership In September, we launched the joint ISTE+ASCD Membership, integrating our benefits to provide educators worldwide with comprehensive access to resources and expertise.

• 2,424 non-US members, 3% of our total member base.

Professional Credentials In 2025, we launched our Instructional Leader Certification to expand our offer of professional credentials.

• 343 certified international educators - includes ISTE Educator Certification and Instructional Leader Certification.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

8

GLOBAL REACH 2025 Events 2025 saw our first co-located annual event, bringing ISTELive and ASCD Annual Conference to San Antonio, Texas.

• We hosted 1,283 international attendees (9% of total attendance) from 82 countries.

Books Featuring world-renowned authors, our books help strengthen our brand positioning and complement our broader service offerings.

• In 2025, we fulfilled 903 international book orders totaling $145,012.

Generation AI In the second half of last year, we expanded the reach of Generation AI to include educators based outside of the US.

• 245 applications to our AI courses came from international educators.

• 136 applicants accepted from 38 countries.

AI Innovator Challenge For the second consecutive year, this initiative saw interest from all over the world, with more than 60 projects in 2025.

•

Two of the three winning student teams were international: Readify (India) and OffSign (Mexico).

ISTE Seal International edtech providers trust us to validate their solutions in alignment with the ISTE Standards as an indicator of high quality.

• •

28 products from outside of the US earned the Seal - 42% of the total Seal-holders.

Several international partners have more than one product with the Seal.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

9

GLOBAL REACH 2025 AI for Tomorrow’s Teachers We enrolled 1,528 non-US teacher preparation faculty and their candidates from 25 countries in our AI program.

273 candidates from Bahrain Teachers College (Arabic) 14 faculty from Queen Rania Teachers College (Arabic) 701 faculty and candidates from 14 universities in Latin America (Spanish)

• • •

Alliance for Innovation in Teacher Education 8 international Education Preparation Programs became members of our EPP Alliance.

• • • •

Hibernia College, Ireland I Am A Teacher, India Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico

• • • •

Universidad Adventista de Bolivia Universidad de Londres, Mexico University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez University of Puerto Rico at Ponce

“In 2025, ISTE+ASCD established itself as a trusted global education partner by expanding AI training and professional credentials across dozens of countries, growing our international teacher preparation partnerships across four continents, and validating edtech solutions for markets worldwide, demonstrating that our standards and frameworks translate effectively across diverse education systems and cultures.”

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

10

GLOBAL REACH 2025

LOOKING AHEAD

OUR FOCUS FOR 2026 Distinguished Schools Program This flagship recognition program expands globally, enabling schools worldwide to demonstrate excellence in innovation and instructional practice.

EdTech Teacher Certification Our new certification has great potential for scale internationally, providing educators everywhere with credentials that validate their technology integration expertise.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

11

GLOBAL REACH 2025 Spanish-Language Hub A new website for Spanish-speaking educators to access our frameworks, resources, professional development and certification programs, supporting them in creating transformative learning experiences. It includes a series of Spanish-language webinars led by our Community Leaders.

International Advisory Group A new advisory body of global education leaders will guide our strategic direction and ensure our work reflects diverse perspectives and contexts.

South Korea (KNUE Partnership) We are advancing our collaboration with Korea National University of Education to enhance teacher preparation programs and support technology integration at scale.

Jordan (Queen Rania Teacher Academy) Our AI for Tomorrow's Teachers initiative scales to reach educators across the entire country through a nationwide upskilling program.

Kazakhstan (Orleu) We will localize the ISTE Standards for the Kazakh education system, supported by comprehensive training and certification programs.

AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Having contributed to the creation of this essential document outlining competencies for AI use in education, we will engage international schools to provide professional learning that integrates this guidance with our own frameworks.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

12

GLOBAL REACH 2025

The momentum from 2025 sets the stage for an ambitious year ahead. In 2026, we're moving from building partnerships to scaling proven programs, launching signature initiatives on key regions, and establishing the structures needed to sustain our international growth for years to come.

For internal use only. Not for distribution.

13