Future-Proofing Education: AI, Quantum Tech, and Career Pathways with Digital Promise CEO, Jean-Claude Brizard

Sep 29, 2025

Jean-Claude Brizard, the dynamic President and CEO of Digital Promise, shares his vision for the future of education. He discusses how blending learning sciences with technology can accelerate innovation. Brizard emphasizes the need for schools to prepare for AI and quantum computing while focusing on adaptable career pathways rather than just job preparation. He also sheds light on the critical roles that philanthropy and government play in education funding, advocating for collaboration to drive meaningful change.

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INSIGHT

Tech Must Serve Pedagogy

Digital Promise operates at the intersection of learning sciences, research, technology, and practice to accelerate education innovation.
Jean-Claude Brizard emphasizes that technology must serve curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment rather than lead them.

ADVICE

Buy Tech That Supports Instruction

Focus procurement on demand: ask school systems to be smart consumers and buy products that support instructional programs.
Tie tech strategy directly to academic goals and ask superintendents what their tech strategy is for academics.

INSIGHT

Strategic Agility Links Policy To Classrooms

Strategic agility means seeing both high-level strategy and classroom realities and deliberately linking them.
Digital Promise visits classrooms and hires researchers with teaching experience to keep work grounded in practice.

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Jean-Claude Brizard is President and CEO of Digital Promise, a global, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focused on accelerating innovation in education. He is the former Chief Executive of Chicago Public Schools and Superintendent of Rochester, NY. Previously, he spent 21 years with the NYC Department of Education, serving as Regional Superintendent for 100+ schools and Executive Director for 400 secondary schools. He also served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading strategies to close racial and economic achievement gaps and supporting charter school growth.

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Digital Promise’s focus on blending learning sciences, technology, and practice
Balancing national innovation with classroom realities
The impact of AI, quantum computing, and emerging tech on education
Preparing students for adaptable career pathways, not just jobs
Collaboration between philanthropy, government, and nonprofits to drive change

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:02:20] Digital Promise’s mission: teaching, learning, pedagogy, and assessment
[00:05:39] Strategic agility: linking national strategy with classroom practice
[00:07:28] Using a logic model to guide initiatives and goals
[00:09:53] Preparing schools for AI, quantum computing, and future tech
[00:13:10] Career pathways that foster adaptability over specific jobs
[00:16:11] Philanthropy vs. government: roles in education funding
[00:19:05] Digital Promise certifications for edtech founders
[00:22:28] Back-to-school advice: building coherent instructional systems

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This season of Edtech Insiders is once again brought to you by Tuck Advisors, the M&A firm for EdTech companies. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 30 years of experience founding, investing in, and selling companies, Tuck believes you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do.

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