Innovate Public Schools AI-EP | Harnessing AI for Advocacy with Michelle Vilchez and Sean Michael Hardy

Welcome to a compelling conversation on Trending in Education, where we explore how innovative thinking and technology can transform public education. In this episode, Mike Palmer talks with Michelle Vilchez, CEO, and Sean Michael Hardy, Vice President of National Organizing and Advocacy, from Innovate Public Schools. They discuss their groundbreaking work in empowering parents and leveraging artificial intelligence to create a new tool called AI-EP, a project developed in collaboration with Northeastern University's Burnes Center for Social Change.

Why You Should Listen:

• Empowering Parents: This episode highlights how a nonprofit organization is shifting power to parents, particularly those from marginalized communities, by giving them the tools and platforms to advocate for their children's education.
• AI for Good: You'll hear about a practical and inspiring use of AI that addresses a real-world problem and closes equity gaps, rather than exacerbating them.
• Community-Led Innovation: The conversation showcases a powerful model of "co-design," where tech developers, educators, and community members work together to create solutions that are both effective and sustainable.

Key Takeaways:

• Innovate Public Schools is a movement, not a network. Michelle and Sean clarify that their organization's mission is to mobilize families to demand high-quality schools for their children, not to operate charter schools. They focus on campaigns for black literacy, special education, and high-impact tutoring.

• AI-EP addresses a critical need. The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is often a dense, 50-page legal document that can be intimidating for parents, especially those who don't speak English or have low reading comprehension. The AI-EP tool translates the IEP into a parent's native language and allows them to ask questions, effectively serving as a chatbot to help them understand and engage with the plan.

• Collaboration is key to innovation. The AI-EP project was a collaborative effort involving Innovate Public Schools, Northeastern University, and the Learning Tapestry. By bringing together tech developers and parents, they created a tool that has had a transformational impact on users.

• Parent advocacy drives policy change. Innovate's parent leaders have not only influenced local policy but also co-authored legislation. Their advocacy led to the passage of California's Senate Bill 445, which mandates that IEP documents be translated into the 10 most common languages across the state, benefiting over 800,000 students.

• The model is replicable. Michelle and Sean stress that their goal is not to be "gatekeepers" of this innovation, but to share the model so it can be replicated across the nation to address a variety of educational challenges. They believe that organizing around education is crucial because it is the "building block" for everything else in life, from economic stability to generational wealth.

Don't miss this conversation. Listen in to learn how Innovate Public Schools is harnessing the power of community and technology to create a more equitable and participatory education system.

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00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:47 Michelle's Journey with Innovate Public Schools

04:39 Sean's Background and Path to Innovate

10:40 Challenges and Innovations in Education

12:14 Parent Advocacy and Policy Change

15:12 Impact of the Pandemic and AI on Education

17:47 Public Trust and Equity in Education

19:01 Innovate Public Schools' Focus on Equity

19:22 AI Collaboration with Northeastern University

19:51 Campaigns and AI Integration

20:25 Understanding IEPs and Their Challenges

21:55 AI's Role in Special Education

26:52 Legislative Efforts for IEP Translation

28:01 Co-Designing AI Tools with the Community

31:03 Future Prospects and Community Engagement

33:41 Final Thoughts and Call to Action