July 9, 2025
Summit attendees skilled firsthand Ed Farm’s “linked classroom” initiative.
Ed Farm efficiently concluded its extremely anticipated Way forward for Studying Summit 2025 (FOLS2025), a transformative two-day occasion that introduced collectively greater than 300 schooling leaders, know-how innovators, municipal officers, and enterprise executives to handle America’s increasing digital abilities hole.
With 90% of all jobs requiring digital fluency by 2030, the summit demonstrated how Ed Farm’s collaborative innovation mannequin creates sustainable instructional transformation by uniting various stakeholders round shared workforce growth targets to assist shut America’s $5.5 trillion digital abilities hole (supply).
Ed Farm, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is a technology-focused nonprofit group designed to shut the rising digital abilities hole and empower educators, college students, and grownup learners via groundbreaking programming and revolutionary instruments. The group’s mission facilities on making ready people for immediately’s tech-driven world whereas constructing capability for future technological developments via strategic neighborhood partnerships. Since its founding, with funding from Apple and Alabama Energy Basis, Ed Farm has expanded to incorporate strategic collaborations with world know-how leaders like Shipt, creating applications that immediately handle workforce growth wants.
The gathering highlighted Ed Farm’s distinctive potential to assist cities and faculty districts spearhead instructional innovation via strategic partnerships that immediately sort out crucial technical abilities shortages. The June 4-5 occasion on the Alabama College of Positive Arts DJD Theater, together with classes on the Birmingham Museum of Artwork and Boutwell Auditorium, showcased how collaborative innovation ecosystems are revolutionizing instructional entry and pupil outcomes in Southeast communities.
These collaborations are replicable fashions for the nation.
“We’ve realized that innovation isn’t in regards to the know-how itself—it’s about creating the circumstances the place know-how can serve genuine instructional targets,” stated Waymond Jackson, president of Ed Farm. “Our success comes from constructing true partnerships the place communities, educators, and know-how leaders work collectively, creating studying environments that put together college students for futures we will’t but think about, whereas honoring the values and strengths they create from their communities.”
The summit featured Ed Farm’s signature hands-on “digital playground,” spanning a number of flooring, providing attendees immersive experiences with cutting-edge studying applied sciences, interactive vendor demonstrations, and wellness areas that exemplify the group’s holistic strategy to instructional innovation.
The FOLS 2025 marquee mayors panel “Group Companions: Transformation via Digital Training” featured Birmingham (AL) Mayor Randall Woodfin, Montgomery (AL) Mayor Steven Reed, and Warner Robins (GA) Mayor LaRhonda Patrick. The Ed Farm Areas partnerships with these three visionary leaders show how collaborative innovation can basically redefine the connection between municipalities and academic methods. These partnerships exemplify Ed Farm’s strategy to creating sustainable change via strategic stakeholder alignment and community-driven program design that addresses particular native workforce growth wants.
Woofin emphasised the crucial significance of municipal involvement in instructional innovation. “It’s extraordinarily, extraordinarily vital for mayors to be concerned in digital schooling initiatives,” he stated. His enthusiasm for the collaborative efforts of Patrick and Reed underscored how Ed Farm facilitates information sharing and finest apply growth throughout various municipal contexts, making a community of innovation that advantages all collaborating communities.
The brand new Ed Farm House known as InnoLab, launched below Patrick, the primary elected Black girl mayor in her metropolis’s historical past, exemplified Ed Farm’s community-first partnership strategy by changing into the group’s inaugural community-based facility. Her administration’s strategic funding in city-funded multigenerational digital studying areas demonstrates how Ed Farm’s collaborative mannequin allows municipalities to handle particular workforce challenges whereas constructing long-term instructional capability.
“We’d like people in our neighborhood who can carry out the roles that the business requires,” Patrick stated, highlighting the direct connection between Ed Farm’s programming and financial growth targets.
“The FOLS2025 Superintendents Panel: District Innovation in Motion” offered compelling proof of Ed Farm’s measurable influence on pupil achievement, educator effectiveness, and district-wide instructional transformation. That includes distinguished leaders from Birmingham Metropolis Colleges, Perry County Colleges, and Jefferson County Colleges, the panel demonstrated how Ed Farm’s collaborative strategy delivers sustainable outcomes throughout various instructional contexts whereas sustaining respect for local people values and academic priorities.
Walter B. Gonsoulin Jr., Superintendent of Jefferson County Public Colleges in Alabama and the 2025 Nationwide Superintendent of the 12 months, described how college students developed apps throughout summer time programming, demonstrating creativity and problem-solving abilities. The panel of superintendents emphasised how Ed Farm’s collaborative methodology allows their districts to handle crucial trainer shortages in under-resourced areas whereas concurrently elevating pupil achievement via revolutionary programming and strategic neighborhood partnerships.
Summit attendees skilled firsthand Ed Farm’s “linked classroom” initiative, which epitomizes the group’s collaborative strategy to fixing complicated STEM entry challenges which have traditionally restricted rural and underserved communities. This cutting-edge program leverages superior know-how to attach rural school rooms with professional educators and complete instructional assets, making certain that geographic isolation now not determines instructional high quality or limits a pupil’s potential for future success.
FOLS2025 efficiently established a robust blueprint for sustainable transformation in ed tech that honors local people values whereas connecting to broader innovation networks and financial alternatives. The gathering positioned Alabama and the Southeast as nationwide leaders in collaborative instructional innovation, whereas demonstrating Ed Farm’s mannequin is well-positioned to handle America’s crucial digital abilities disaster.
About Ed Farm
Launched in partnership with Apple and Alabama Energy Basis in 2020, Ed Farm is a 501(c)(3) group that empowers educators, college students, and grownup learners to not solely thrive in immediately’s digital age however put together for the developments of tomorrow. By means of tech-focused programming, modern studying environments, and revolutionary instruments, Ed Farm is on a mission to shut the rising digital abilities hole in communities throughout the Southeast and past. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Ed Farm is a part of Propel Training alongside Propel Heart. Study extra at edfarm.org.
In regards to the Way forward for Studying Summit
FOLS is an expert growth expertise in Birmingham that brings Ed Farm’s passionate neighborhood of educators collectively to reimagine studying via know-how and future-focused curriculum. Study extra at https://fols.edfarm.org
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