In this episode of the EdTech Startup Podcast, host Jeff Bradbury interviews Mike Cronley, co-founder and CEO of Class Composer and former third-grade teacher. Mike shares his journey from the classroom to entrepreneurship, sparked by a casual conversation with his school's music teacher about students being incorrectly placed together. This "aha moment" led him to develop Class Composer, a software solution that helps elementary schools create balanced, equitable classroom rosters. Over seven years, Mike transitioned from teaching while developing his idea as a side project to fully committing to his startup. The conversation explores the challenges of the traditional paper-based class placement process, the importance of listening to customers, and advice for educators considering entrepreneurship.

In this EdTech Startup Showcase episode, host Jethro Jones interviews Vidya Sundaram (CEO) and Elisabeth O'Bryon (Chief Impact Officer) from Family Engagement Lab. The conversation explores how their platform bridges the gap between classroom learning and home support through bite-sized, actionable text messages that help families understand what their children are learning and how to reinforce those skills at home. The founders share their personal motivations—Elizabeth's experience as a bilingual school psychologist working with diverse families, and Vidya's childhood experience of disconnect between her immigrant family's educational values and school communication. They discuss their FAST Talk model (Families and Schools Talk), which has supported over 70,000 students across 50+ districts, and their new AI learning coach that provides personalized support for parents' questions.

Key Takeaways

• Family engagement works best when it's accessible and actionable
  • Short text messages (160 characters) with specific, grade-level appropriate activities are more effective than lengthy emails
• The impact is greatest for underserved students
  • Research shows the most pronounced learning gains for students whose families don't share a common language with teachers and those who started the year behind academically
• Parents want to help but need the right information
  • Families have passion and interest in supporting learning but often lack insight into what's happening in the classroom and how to help at the right developmental level
• Sustainable implementation requires cross-functional coordination
  • Success comes from communications experts working alongside curriculum teams to create a shared responsibility for family engagement
• AI can personalize family support
  • Their new AI learning coach allows parents to ask specific questions about their child's needs and build their own confidence in supporting learning at home

Jamie Rosenberg is a two-time founder of technology platforms, including education philanthropy platform AdoptAClassroom.org, and the subject of today’s conversation, ClassWallet. We discuss:

• Jamie's entrepreneurial background and how he got into education
• The problem ClassWallet is aiming to solve
• How many states, districts, and schools ClassWallet is working with
• If Jamie was starting the company again today, what would he do differently?
• With the growth of ESAs and personalized funding, what do the next 5 years look like?

Learn more at https://classwallet.com

About the guest
Jamie Rosenberg is a visionary entrepreneur and a two-time founder of technology platforms that have transformed how public funds reach communities in need to drive large-scale, systemic change. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of ClassWallet, a transformative digital wallet financial technology company reimagining how public funds are distributed to citizens, and spent. Prior to ClassWallet, he founded AdoptAClassroom.org, one of the country’s leading education philanthropy platforms, ensuring classroom teachers get the support they need. With a lifelong passion for social impact, Rosenberg has dedicated his career to reducing poverty and inequality by leveraging technology to improve educational opportunities, enhance government efficiency, and foster trust and transparency between citizens and public institutions.

About the host
Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and host of The Authority Podcast. Listen at https://authoritypodcast.net

Ben Gustafson, founder of Classroom Mosaic, returns to the show along with Jeff McCoy, associate superintendent for Greenville County Schools in South Carolina.

Jeff and Ben discuss:

• How Greenville "electronicized" observation with Classroom Mosaic
• Greenville's objective to get more insight into classrooms and transform instruction
• Helping principals become better instructional leaders and the impact on student achievement
• Excellent support for new administrators and new coaches
• How to use proven frameworks and modify them for local needs

Hear more about Classroom Mosaic:
We help K-12 leaders support, develop, and retain their teachers. For over a decade, we've worked with educators worldwide from districts large (100k students) and small (150 students) to transform instructional practice, guide professional development, and impact student learning.

We believe every student deserves a great education. And a great education starts with great teachers supported by great leaders. Learn more:

• classroommosaic.com
• twitter.com/ClassroomMosaic
• linkedin.com/company/classroommosaic/
• twitter.com/Ben__Gustafson
• linkedin.com/in/bengus28/

About today's host:
Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.

He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

It's a delight to be joined by Kali Frederick, Professional Learning Designer with the High Tech High Graduate School of Education who has 20 years of teaching and designing learning experiences in PBL classrooms at High Tech High and NYC. In this insightful episode, she and Scott discuss:

• How Inkwire supports collaborative curriculum design at High Tech High
• How Kali learned the necessity of relevance in lesson design
• The design principles that enable High Tech High students to have a transformative experience
• Using Inkwire to support project-based learning
• Building a space for innovative educators

About today's host:
Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.

He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

Today we're thrilled to introduce Class Composer, the newest startup to join the show. We speak with CEO and co-founder Mike Cronley.

Class Composer is a software solution designed to create balanced and equitable classroom assignments. Mike shares his journey from being a third-grade teacher to developing a tool that addresses the challenges of inequitable class assignments. The conversation explores the inception of Class Composer, its functionality, customer feedback, and the future of the product as it aims to expand its impact in education.

About today's guest:

While some big ideas are born in the boardroom, others are born in the lunchroom.

In his 12 years teaching third grade near Denver, Colorado, Mike shared the frustrations of many colleagues enduring inequitable classes – for example, classes having an imbalance of low readers or students with challenging behavior. These imbalances weren’t surprising, given the student placement process was done with pink and blue paper cards.

Over lunch one day in 2007, the school’s music teacher was venting to Mike about some unruly students who mistakenly ended up in her class together, even though they were supposed to have been separated based on their disruptive behavior the year before. Wouldn’t it be great, they mused, if there were some software to create class lists and avoid these basic errors?

As a self-professed technology geek, Mike started dreaming about the possibility of creating his own solution. That dream grew into an obsession, and he found himself spending evenings and weekends consumed by research – driving his wife crazy. The result was Class Composer, software built on Mike’s tech savvy, his teacher’s perspective, and his commitment to creating positive learning environments.

Mike, who received his B.S. in Psychology from the Ohio State University and an elementary teaching certificate from the University of Colorado Denver, is no longer in the classroom, but is an educator at heart who loves making a positive impact on the lives of teachers and students. He lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and two poodles, and he loves to ski, bike, and camp with his family, including his college-age son and daughter.

About today's host:
Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.

He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

Priten Shah, the founder and CEO of Pedagogy.Cloud and Pedagog.ai, returns as guest. He gets us caught up on the company's latest work, sets the context for ethics and AI, and discusses some of the key questions educators need to be asking about AI.

Hear about:

• Embracing tech for a meaningful purpose
• Finding new uses for AI and being realistic about some of the persistent challenges
• Priten's updated outlook for what we can expect from educators, students and AI
• Broadening our concept of future success to include more than careers
• Overcoming tech resistance

About Pedagog.ai:

Pedagog.ai is focused on supporting educators in adapting to the age of artificial intelligence in education. The company offers a variety of professional development options, including books, online courses, webinars, and in-person workshops, to help teachers learn about the latest advancements in AI and education. Their suite of tools is designed with educators in mind, aiming to enhance curriculum development and workflow efficiency through AI technology. They also provide tools tailored for student use, enabling them to engage in assignments that leverage AI capabilities in a classroom setting. Learn more:

• http://pedagog.ai/
• https://twitter.com/pedagogycloud
• https://www.instagram.com/pedagogycloud/
• https://facebook.com/pedagogycloud

About today's guest:
Priten Shah, M. ED and B.A, Harvard, is the CEO of Pedagogy.Cloud, which provides innovative technology solutions to help educators navigate global challenges in a rapidly evolving world. He is also the author of the Wiley’s Jossey-Bass publication, “AI & The Future of Education: Teaching in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.“ Pedagogy.Cloud has worked with over 200 different educational organizations to adapt and innovate during major world events including the Covid-19 Pandemic. He and his team are currently focused on helping educational organizations adapt to the ever growing capabilities of AI. Priten is also the founder of United 4 Social Change, a civics education nonprofit that focuses on helping teachers integrate interdisciplinary education into their curricula through animated videos, lesson plans, and innovative classroom activities. Connect with Priten:

• http://linkedin.com/in/pritenhshah
• https://twitter.com/pritenhshah

About today's host:
Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.

He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm

We're excited to have Christel Reaves, founder and CEO of Connected Class, back on the show. Today she shares some of the big developments with Connected Class over the past six months and a lot more:

Hear about:

• Earned insights on scaling a startup
• Knowing your strengths as a founder and building the right team around yourself
• Providing resources that give parents options to support their child's education
• Literacy, math and social-emotional development
• The resilient mindset required of an edtech entrepreneur in changing times

About Connected Class

We build communication between the classroom and home environment through exciting games, strategies, and activities to help students succeed academically. Learn more:

• www.connectedclass.com
• https://twitter.com/connectedclass_
• https://www.instagram.com/connected_class
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/connected-class

About today’s guest

Christel Reaves, founder and CEO of Connected Class, is an enthusiastic educator dedicated to improving learning and equipping educators to succeed. Her passion for ensuring family engagement throughout the learning process is evident and at the core of every product and service provided by Connected Class. She oversees a team of Instructional Specialists to support schools, focusing on helping educators analyze data, develop action plans, implement instructional strategies, and enhance family engagement for improved student achievement.

Before Christel was the founder of Connected Class, she was a classroom teacher, county resource educator and district administrator. She worked closely with the state to remove low performing Title I schools from Intervene status. Over the past 25 years, she has helped many schools improve their student performance and engage families.

About today’s host

Scott Schuette is a Learning and Development Executive with years of experience driving the creation of innovative, multi-million dollar learning platforms and education programs for major corporate enterprise companies.

He is cohost of The Fabulous Learning Nerds, a podcast sharing new ideas, learning tools, approaches and technology that increase learner engagement and impact — All while having FUN! Listen to the show and subscribe here: https://fabulouslearningnerds.transistor.fm