Many states have reported a dismal drop in state funding over the last 10 years. Expecting the school systems to compensate for the funding plunge is like asking them to multitask without a solution in sight. We often fail to realize the enormous impact these steps will have on the students, who are ultimately going to pay for the talks and reforms that may never see the light.

With upcoming elections, multiple candidates across the country are pledging to focus on K-12 budgets. The situation is dire, especially considering how technological innovations have changed the way we learn today.

States are beginning to show their commitment to K-12 public education, not just with improved funding but also with an increase in innovative partnerships. Let's take a look at a few recent examples.

Multiple regional partnerships are sprouting up across the country, especially in the ed-tech segment. One such example is Boston's LearnLaunch Accelerator, an organization that plans to invest in multiple companies and serve the entire continuum of education, from K-12 through higher and continuing education.

The organization has a co-working space that houses 40 companies in which it invests, basically ed-tech startups. By supporting them, the accelerator encourages the emergence of new technology to improve education and connects these companies with schools and districts for better and faster results. The companies range from gaming, online payments, children's books, tutoring, educational affordability, college admissions, to even looking for solutions in K-12 administrative operations.

We already have Chromebooks rapidly influencing K-12 education. In 2014, 3.9 million Chromebooks were shipped just in the education sector. A recent survey notes that 49 percent of the new digital devices and computers received in the new school year will be showcasing Chromebooks.

The rising demand for personal computers in the K-12 setting and an increase in online standardized testing in the U.S. have led to decreasing prices, which has in turn increased their circulation. The innovative ways in which Chromebooks offer curriculum-oriented products have impacted the learning process in a big way — a fact that more districts have realized as they opted for this digital partnership.

The University of Alabama has announced a new research and service project in collaboration with the United States Department of Education and Alabama Department of Education. The $1 million grant will be used to implement three years of professional development activities with teachers in the Tuscaloosa area, helping them develop their skills further.

This collaborative partnership will not just help teachers also but work hand in hand to help all students to improve. The key goals of the project include decreasing the mathematics achievement gap of special education students, increasing content knowledge of K-12 faculty and encourage collaboration between teachers.

Most of all, it aims to improve critical-thinking skills of all students in the process, aiming for more positive student learning outcomes.

In a similar move, the University of Phoenix and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association are partnering up to expand doctoral education opportunities for K-12 educators in the state. These flexible learning options are aimed to support and help grow the next generation of strategic leaders.

These programs will help teachers keep abreast of the changing dynamics of K-12 education, which include the new assessments and standards as well as technological innovations. Now they can meet the classroom needs, focus on student development and maintain their professional responsibilities. They will just have the added support to do all these better and also expand their own horizons of knowledge.

The creation of a new education think tank, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), is yet another innovative example of enhancing K-12 learning. They aim to help American kids face the knowledge revolution and prepare for the rapidly changing, knowledge-based society. The goal is to prepare them for a future that doesn't exist but should be anticipated all the same.

To do this, students have to be smarter, faster on the uptake and exponentially more knowledgeable. Clearly, there is a need to do more than meet the student, teacher and subject matter integration. Hopefully, these innovative partnerships will bridge the gap between the new and the old systems seamlessly.