Good day, CharterFolk.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how students think, learn, and work, often in ways we do not yet fully understand.
Today, we are sharing a WonkyFolk conversation with Mary Wells, Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Bellwether, and Marisa Mission, Senior Policy Analyst at Bellwether, that takes this moment seriously. It is a wide-ranging and grounded discussion on how AI is actually showing up in schools and what it may mean for the future of learning.
We dig into how the latest tools are being used day to day, why “human in the loop” means far more than a final review step, and what cognitive science tells us about the real risks of students offloading hard thinking to technology. The conversation also explores the evolving role of teachers, the economic ripple effects of AI, and why the charter school mindset, rooted in curiosity and rigor, may matter more than ever.
Here is a link to the podcast and a transcript of the conversation on the CharterFolk website.
You can also access the discussion here on Youtube.
You can find us on Spotify here.
An archive of all past recordings is available on our website.
As always, time with the Bellwether team left me wiser and a bit more unsettled in the best way. This conversation sits at the center of what may be one of the most consequential developments in public education in a generation. A personal thanks to Andy, Mary and Marisa for a particularly illuminating discussion.
Inside the Conversation:
How AI is actually being used
- How Bellwether’s team is working with tools like Claude Skills and Gemini Canvas
- What “human in the loop” really looks like in practice
What we are learning about cognition and classrooms
- What cognitive offloading means and why it threatens real learning
- The rise of the bimodal classroom, with AI-enabled work alongside blue books and pen and paper
- Dan Meyer’s perspective on AI and math instruction
How schools are adapting
- The ambidextrous adoption approach to AI in schools
- Where innovation is emerging and the equity concerns that come with it
- Dream Charter School’s AI readiness curriculum
- Why teacher support and family engagement remain critical gaps
The bigger picture
- The White House AI Policy Framework and state-level responses
- Public opinion data on AI from Blue Rose Research
- Whether AI will drive white-collar job loss or fuel new forms of entrepreneurship
- What charter schools should be doing right now
Show Notes & Resources:
- Bellwether AI work
- The Leading Indicator: AI in Education newsletter (Marisa Mission & Alex Spurrier)
- Productive Struggle (Bellwether)
- Built for Learning case studies (Bellwether)
- Robin Lake / CRPE on AI in Education
- Dan Meyer on AI and math
- AFT & Moms for Liberty on screens
- Blue Rose Research – AI public opinion
- White House AI Policy Framework
- DOL AI Literacy Framework
- Julia Freeland Fisher
- Chad Alderman
- Marguerite Roza / Edunomics Lab
- Better Parent BATNA Now – The Real AI Transforming Education As We Know It (Wallace post at CharterFolk)