Leading Educators

Most conference panels about AI are a highlight reel. Here's the polished version of everything I've been doing right, and everything good that came out of it. ✨ I'm really tired of those sessions. I want to do the opposite at SXSW EDU this spring with stories from Leading Educators alongside Lindsay Berger from aiEDU and Ross Lescano Lipstein from Transcend. I've felt a shift in how we work together in the ed space. For most of my nonprofit career, the norm was competition. You hold your cards close, guard the good ideas, treat other orgs as rivals for the same funding opportunities and attention. In the last couple of years, that's cracked open. AI is moving too fast, and there's too much to learn, for any one nonprofit to own this space. So instead of guarding your territory, people are reaching out, trading notes, and sharing lessons learned, even when they're running similar or overlapping programs. I'm part of a monthly "kitchen table" where leaders across a small handful of organizations share what's not working, what we're worried about, what's gaining momentum, and how to turn scattered early-adopter energy into actual strategy. Even a Slack message I just got from Lindsay Berger, a co-facilitator of this session. She'd been invited to co-facilitate some sessions at a different upcoming conference and wrote back to make sure I was included too. Her slack to me: "Would love for LE to be represented." (Side note: There is so much value in being able to trust colleagues and partners to speak your name in rooms you're not in. And it's a priority for me to be that person for others too.) That generosity and openness and the let's-figure-this-out-together kind of energy is exactly what we want to bring to SXSW. How are we becoming AI-ready organizations? Where did we get it wrong, and what is really moving the needle? The highlight reel AND the blooper reel. So, here's the ask: our session is up for a vote in the SXSW PanelPicker, and we'd love yours. It takes about 30 seconds, and the deadline is Sunday, August 23. The voting link is in the comments!

One day left to apply. The first Economic Mobility AI Accelerator brought together 18 organizations ready to move from AI curiosity to practical implementation. Now we're looking for the next cohort. If your nonprofit serves communities in California and is ready to build practical AI solutions—with embedded coaching, a fully funded experience, and a $20,000 implementation grant—we'd love to hear from you. The future won't wait. Let's build for it together. Applications close August 15: https://hubs.la/Q04sZX3_0

🗳️ Voting is open for SXSW EDU 2027 in PanelPicker®! Come ready to code, build, test, and leave with something you created. Using Leading Educators’ AI Jam Session model, you’ll start with a learning goal and build a prototype to support it, alongside other educators doing the same. Participants will: ⚡ Build hands-on vibe coding skills ⚡ Create and explore prototypes for future-ready learning ⚡ Learn a Jam Session model to bring back to their own teams ⚡ Leave ready to keep building and experimenting Better learning is the goal. Technology gives us new ways to build toward it. PanelPicker® Community Voting is open through August 23. Want more hands-on conversations like this at SXSW EDU 2027? Cast your vote. Vote here: https://hubs.la/Q04sZThW0

"It is not just about saying that we are all 'math people.' [The Oakland Unified School District community] is proving it in real time." - Shelbi Cole

It’s clear that school systems are facing faster change, greater ambiguity, and more constraints. Proven practices can break through the noise and help leaders double down on what works. Take for example the importance of leveraging school leaders as the “principal” educators in their building. Our longtime collaborator Nancy B. Gutierrez, Ed.L.D. at The Leadership Academy writes: “[Principals] are the connective tissue between curriculum intent and classroom reality. They have as much influence, if not more, on student learning as teachers do. Without including them, districts navigating tightening budgets will never get their money’s worth out of new research-based literacy or math curriculums, or curriculum-focused professional learning for teachers.” https://lnkd.in/ewe5UZRE

I am very excited to have Bailey join the talented Leading Educators' team. Her instructional expertise, knowledge about how to put research into practice, state level relationships, and ability to scale promising pilots or insights - will be critical to this next stage of Leading Educator's work. Welcome Bailey!

What do we know about what works for students—and what do we still need to learn? That question has grounded the trajectory of our newest leader, Bailey Cato Czupryk, who joins Leading Educators as Chief Research and Design Officer. Bailey will lead an ambitious learning and design strategy focused on what students need to thrive now and beyond 2030. She’ll work across portfolios to connect what we’re learning from evidence and alongside school systems to what we build next—testing promising ideas, strengthening our literacy and mathematics work, and helping determine which emerging services are ready to scale. Bailey brings deep experience to the work from the classroom and across the landscape. She most recently served as Chief Program Officer at Gradient Learning and previously held leadership roles for nearly 15 years at TNTP, where she was the lead author of The Opportunity Myth. As the conditions surrounding teaching and learning change, we believe we have a responsibility to build from what the field knows while learning, with equal discipline, what students and educators will need next. We’re thrilled to have Bailey leading that work. 🔗 Meet Bailey and learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04sJX_G0

🗳️ Voting is now open for SXSW EDU 2027 PanelPicker® If you've ever wondered whether your district's growing collection of edtech and AI tools is adding up to a coherent strategy, this workshop is for you. "Are All of Your EdTech Tools Earning Their Value?" with Antoinette Melvin and Dr. Nia Ladson introduces two practical frameworks that help educators, principals, and district leaders: ✔️ Evaluate the instructional value of emerging technologies ✔️ Make technology decisions through a shared, student-centered process ✔️ Decide what to adopt, adapt, or abandon while staying aligned on strategy When everyone is using the same language and decision-making process, technology investments become more coherent, more sustainable, and more likely to improve student learning. Technology decisions directly shape student experiences and future possibilities. Let's make sure we're talking about how to make those decisions in a way that considers the entire school system. Vote here: https://lnkd.in/ePQKsqDC