What if school districts stopped buying AI tools and started building them?

In this episode, we talk with Daniel Friedman (Director of Technology, Hicksville Public Schools) and Dr. Patrick Fogarty (Assistant Superintendent, Hewlett Woodmere Public Schools & Founder of NYSAIC) about how educators are moving beyond vendor-dependent solutions to create their own local AI infrastructure.

They discuss:

• Building local LLMs for data privacy and student research
• Creating custom Regents exam generators through practitioner collaboration
• How real AI innovation happens in group chats at 2 AM, not in procurement meetings
• The shift from "What tool should we buy?" to "What can we build ourselves?"
• Why the New York State Artificial Intelligence Consortium matters for equity and access
• Solving hyper-specific district problems through grassroots innovation

Daniel and Patrick met 15 years ago during iPad rollouts and have remained colleagues through every technology transition since. Their work proves that the future of AI in education won't be shaped by EdTech companies, it will be shaped by practitioners solving real problems together.

Subscribe for more conversations about technology, education, and what's actually possible when educators lead the way.

Parents discover their teenagers are using AI in school, but they're learning about it after decisions are already made. Jason B. Allen, National Director of Partnerships at the National Parents Union, isn't interested in fixing a communication gap. He's here to close a partnership gap.

Jason brings 21 years in education as a certified teacher, special educator, and former school and district leader. He knows what happens when schools make tech decisions without families at the table. He also knows what it looks like when they do it right, and it changes everything about how students, teachers, and parents experience innovation together.

In this conversation, we dig into why 70-84% of students are using generative AI while only 16-20% of parents believe they are. We explore the real tension between technology departments and family engagement departments—and why ego, not resources, is often the barrier. Jason shares NPU's vision for technology fairs where parents and students evaluate EdTech tools before purchase, and he walks through the questions every parent should ask their school board about AI right now.

We also play the AI Effect game, a scenario-based exercise that shows how AI can actually support human connection, not replace it. The moment: using AI to prepare for a difficult conversation with a parent. Everyone at the table agreed it works.

What You'll Learn:

• The AI awareness gap - why 70-84% of students are using generative AI while only 16-20% of parents know
• Five questions for your school board - what every parent should ask about AI adoption and student data
• Technology fairs - how open partnership can shift schools from closed decisions to shared vetting
• The department turf war - why ego between tech and family engagement slows everyone down
• "We come when we're called" - what NPU's approach means for school districts ready to listen
• 2 million members strong - how NPU and 1,800+ partners are reshaping education policy

The AI Effect Game: We use a real scenario to show how generative AI can deepen parent conversations instead of replacing them. Listen for the moment the room shifts.

Brett Roer and Rebecca Bultsma guide the conversation, Rebecca as an AI ethics researcher and voice of structural thinking, Brett as the translator between what schools are doing and what families need to understand.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.

What if the data that matters most isn't grades or test scores, but the messy, beautiful process of how students actually learn?

Erin Mote, CEO of InnovateEDU, joins Brett and Rebecca for a timely conversation on National AI Literacy Day 2026. Erin founded the EdSafe AI Alliance and leads a network of educational partnerships touching thousands of school districts nationwide. Her background spans enterprise architecture, personalized learning platforms, and global education technology initiatives.

This episode tackles one of education's most pressing questions: who owns the learning process data that AI systems are quietly collecting? Erin introduces the "ground lease on the family farm" metaphor—describing how foundational models are capturing the intellectual property of teachers and students to fuel AGI development. The conversation moves from policy to practice, exploring the White House's new AI framework (released the day of recording), EdTech accountability gaps where safety features become paid add-ons, and emerging research on AI bias in grading. Punya Mishra's work at ASU reveals how student dialect and cultural references can lower AI-assigned scores, raising urgent questions about fairness and trust.

What You'll Learn:

1. AI literacy as discernment — Why the Blueprint for AI Literacy focuses on critical thinking grounded in the science of learning and development, not just tool proficiency
2. Learning process data vs. PII — How students think, correct mistakes, and sequence productive struggle—and why this data is foundational for AGI
3. EdTech accountability tensions — The pattern of features pushed open by default while safety becomes a paid upgrade, and what shared responsibility really means
4. AI bias in grading — Research showing how dialectical differences like "y'all" and cultural preferences (rap vs. classical music) affect AI scoring
5. National AI Literacy Day evolution — From its founding three years ago to 140+ supporting organizations in 2026, with statewide events, year-round curriculum, and student town halls

The episode features two rounds of The Rhythm Project's AI Effect game, exploring AI-generated apologies and the ethics of using AI to grade 140 essays, plus Ocean's 11 recommendations from Erin's dream team of education innovators.

Brett and Rebecca bring fresh perspectives from recent work: Brett shares insights from presenting with Utah's Matt Winters on six panels exploring humanity in AI policy, while Rebecca reflects on governance research at Edinburgh Futures Institute as she completes her master's in AI ethics.

Tune in, subscribe, and share if you're ready to turn up the volume on what's possible in education.