AJ Gutierrez

March Madness

MARCH MADNESS OF LEARNING LIVE FROM SXSW EDU with AJ Gutierrez, Jasmine Maze, and Justin Serrano

We’re back in Austin for the 2026 SXSW EDU “March Madness of Learning Trends” LIVE panel. Host Mike Palmer is joined by AJ Gutierrez (CEO of ⁠Equal Opportunity Schools⁠), Jasmine Maze (Senior Managing Director at ⁠Teach for America’s Reinvention Lab⁠), and Justin Serrano (CEO of ⁠Littera Education⁠) to reveal a bracket of 16 trends shaping the future of education.

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March Madness

March Madness of Learning Trends Sweet 16 and Final Four Revealed!

Mike Palmer⁠ and virtual co-host Nancy are back from the podcast stage at ⁠SXSW EDU⁠ in Austin, Texas. In this special update, we break down the Sweet 16 of Learning Trends and announce which four have fought their way into the Final Four. This episode explores the collective zeitgeist of the education world, from the challenges of chronic absenteeism to the futuristic potential of vibe coding and agentic intelligence.

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K12 Education

Building Equal Opportunity Schools with AJ Gutierrez

Mike Palmer⁠ welcomes back Friend of the Show, ⁠AJ Gutierrez⁠, the pioneering co-founder of Saga Education, now CEO of ⁠Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS)⁠.

AJ shares his transition from direct service to a focus on systemic change, detailing the crucial, often overlooked, mission of EOS: identifying and accelerating equitable opportunity for high-potential students.

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