Presenting the 26 Teams Advancing to Next Round of the ATS Hub Ideas Challenge

The ATS Hub—an Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded community hub that supports IES’s Accelerate, Transform, Scale (ATS) Initiative—has selected 26 teams to advance to the next round of the Ideas Challenge, an opportunity for the public to submit highly scalable, breakthrough ideas that can foster student agency and build academic content knowledge.

Digital Promise and SRI International lead the ATS Hub and will support the advancing teams as they move on to the Discovery Phase of the competition. This phase is designed to help the selected teams strengthen their ideas, refine their concepts, and develop the underlying logic of their proposed innovation. Teams participating in the Discovery Phase will receive support from industry experts and engage in concept development activities.

Each of the advancing teams were judged based on whether their idea presented a fresh perspective to the sector and its ability to create wide-ranging positive change. Each applicant was required to consider how their idea benefits its target audience and its reliance on data and research. Many submissions reflected the prevalence of Artificial Intelligence in the education sector today, while others included different foci, such as game-based learning.

“It is incredibly exciting to see the creativity and ambition represented across these 26 submissions, and I am looking forward to seeing how teams carry that early spark from the Open Phase into the Discovery Phase as they challenge their assumptions, strengthen their concepts, and sharpen their ideas,” said Alexis Murillo, project director of edtech R&D at Digital Promise. “I am especially interested to see where each team takes their submission next, how their thinking will evolve through the process, and what these ideas could mean for learners across the country.”

The Ideas Challenge connects participants with industry leaders, offers expert mentorship, and prepares them to apply for funding to test and launch their ideas. Participants that advance to the final Prize Phase of the challenge will also receive $10,000 to support their idea, and three winners will each receive a prize of $50,000.

The Ideas Challenge advancing teams are:

Grades 6-12

• ASL Aspire: Game-based STEM Literacy application (Ayesha Kazi, ASL Aspire)
• IEP Progress Pathway by FrenalyticsEDU – a new interactive dashboard experience (Matt Giovanniello, Frenalytics)
• SideQuest: Making Learning Matter Beyond (Karishma Jain)
• Scroll to Tell: Narrating Comprehensive Data to Inform Classroom Instruction for Student Learning (Haigen Huang, Edu Data to Policy)
• Build It, Question It: Students Making Trustworthy AI (Cured) (Ed Dieterle, Education Research Partners, LLC)
• The Zero History Flawed AI Peer (Srikanth Uppala, Qikr AI)
• The Learner Trajectory: Turning Single Assignments (Samuel Christiansen, Accessly Education)
• QuestionWell: Research-Grade Quality AI Evaluators (Maya Bialik and Will Cummings, QuestionWell AI)
• Educator-Endorsed Credentials for Decision-Making and Durable Skills (The Alliance for Decision Education)

Early Childhood and Grades K-5

• Play Your Way to Reading: Bilingual Family Literacy Toolkit (Josh Barocas)
• Playtelligent: AI-guided, real-world learning for families (Tyler Schwartz and Margo Smith, ThinkPlayful)
• SherryMind: an AI-powered adaptive learning platform (Keyvan Kian)
• Bright Light Neuro: Brain Science for Kids (Emma Bleakman and Bridget Malicki, Bright Light Neuro)
• TeachSim (Rebekah Berlin and Hallie Parten, TeachSim at Cambiar Education)
• Accelerating literacy growth with reading identity (Alvin Irby, Barbershop Books)
• AiMi Family Learning (Marian Dorado, AiMi Family Learning)
• Safety Nest: Home Alone, Practiced Readiness (The Safety Nest)
• The Literacy Ecosystem OS: A Community-Powered Operating System (Kimberly Chase, Chase Literacy)

Postsecondary and Adulthood

• Employer Skills Built Into Everyday Learning (Elisa Marconell)
• Building Critical Thinking to Outsmart AI: A Collaborative Gameplay Approach (Pragati Maheshwary, other members pending)
• Situational AI Coaching to Build Executive Functioning and Agency in Adult Online Learners (Zilu Jiang)
• Text Message Practice That Builds Self-Directed Agency and Study Habits (Steven Moore)
• STEM Microcredential Studio for Coherent Credential Pathways (Damji Stratton)
• Dash: Building Learner Agency on Every New Tab (Jonathan Muruako, Fitalyst)
• Flourish: An Evidence-Based AI Coach for Learner Agency and Executive Functioning (Xuan Zhao, Flourish Science)
• 4-in-1 core skills training and 3D evaluation (Sasha Lotas, Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School)

To learn more about the advancing teams, and to participate in the upcoming community voting phase, subscribe to the Ideas Challenge newsletter.

This material was developed under The Institute of Education Sciences Award R305N250006 from the U.S. Department of Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IES.