About the Event:
TFA’s Reinvention Lab presented alongside distinguished TFA alumni, Merlin Valdez and Vriti Saraf. Participants explored practical uses of AI tools, guided by insights from seasoned EdTech veterans, and gained a deeper understanding of AI’s real-world educational impact.
Merlin Valdez (DFW ‘14), a former bilingual 4th-grade teacher and co-founder of Planning Period, shared his expertise in developing AI-powered lesson planning platforms that support culturally responsive teaching. His work focuses on creating accessible, standards-aligned lessons that resonate with diverse student communities.
Vriti Saraf (NYC ‘09), CEO of Ed3 DAO and founder of k20 Educators, discussed her journey from teaching in Brooklyn to leading initiatives that help educators leverage AI and Web3 technologies. Her organization, Ed3 DAO, aims to upskill educators in emerging technologies, preparing students for future challenges.
The workshop, grounded in insights from the recent Microsoft & LinkedIn workforce report, provided attendees with strategies to effectively implement AI in their teaching. Those who joined left equipped with concrete tools and strategies, achieving a clearer understanding of how AI can support—and where it is yet to meet—the needs of educational settings.
About the Reinvention Lab: The Reinvention Lab is an exploratory space where we think about and build towards the future of learning. We use our power and privilege to accelerate, assemble, and amplify leaders and learners working toward reinvention. Together with youths, parents, and educators across the country, we hold up a mirror to ourselves and our systems, seek out radically different perspectives, and advocate fiercely for equitable innovation, including and especially at Teach For America.
Featured Resources:
- Presentation Slides
- Ed3DAO Ed3 DAO is a non-profit committed to onboarding 1 million global educators into the world of emerging technology. Sign up here for an Ed3 AI course (under the category “technology courses”) using a $200 free credit from our partners at Idaho State University. Join the Ed3 community of practice, for free here.
- Newsletter: https://ed3world.substack.com/
- Planning Period is an AI-powered lesson planning platform created by DFW ‘14 alum, Merlin Valdez, rooted in the feedback and experience of corps members, alumni school leaders, and partner school administrators in the TFA network. Planning Period’s mission is to make rigorous, culturally responsive teaching accessible to all teachers.
- TFA Alumni can sign up to Planning Period using this link: https://www.planningperiod.io/register?code=TFAALUM
- TFA Corps Members can sign up to Planning Period using this link: https://www.planningperiod.io/register?code=TFACM
- EdLight keeps student work at the heart of your classrooms. We provide teachers the support they need most, from a co-pilot to help grade handwritten student work to insights on misconceptions and targeted next steps.
- Uppercase offers personalized advice, resources and coaching from vetted experts — on-demand, when you need it most. Meet award-winning teachers and find a supportive network to help you thrive in your teaching career.
About the Panelists:
Vriti Saraff
Co-Founder of Ed3 DAO
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Vriti Saraf NYC ‘09 (https://www.vritisaraf.com/) is co-founder and CEO of Ed3 DAO (https://www.ed3dao.com/), a non-profit that helps educators learn about emerging technology, with a focus on AI & Web3. She is also the founder of k20 Educators, a metaverse for learning design studio and consultancy, which also incubated Ed3 DAO. Vriti started her career as a Teach for America teacher in Brooklyn, NY. She has served as a professor, a dean, & a director in public, private, & charter schools both locally & internationally across k12 & higher education. She currently serves in advisory roles at XPrize, Full Steam Forward, and Mi Primer Bitcoin. You can access her blog at https://ed3world.substack.com/.
Ed3 DAO (https://www.ed3dao.com/) is a 501(c)3 non profit organization aiming to upskill 1 million educators on emerging technologies in the context of research-backed pedagogies, in service of preparing students for the future.
Ed3 is moving toward this mission through three main areas of development:
- Coursework focused on emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, AR/VR, and spatial computing, and pedagogies like Project Based Learning, Design Thinking, and Restorative Practices, for educators and education leaders. Ed3 partners with graduate schools of education and Edtech organizations to disseminate this coursework.
- Global community of practice focused on democratizing free access to resources and ideas on the use of emerging technologies in education. Ed3 offers community members a virtual environment to collaborate, free workshops and events around the world, and micro-grants for community members to facilitate peer-to-peer learning events.
- Thought leadership focused on use cases for emerging technologies to improve the educational experience, including research on competency-based assessments, digital micro-credentialing through user-owned wallets, and the evolution of the teacher role.
Sign up here for an Ed3 AI course (under the category “technology courses”) using a $200 free credit from our partners at Idaho State University. Join the Ed3 community of practice, for free here.
Merlin Valdez
Co-Founder of Planning Period
View Profile
Merlin Valdez began his career in education as a bilingual 4th-grade teacher with Teach For America in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2014. He then moved to Santiago, Chile, where he supported teacher development at Teach for Chile while completing a master’s degree in Public Administration at Universidad de Chile, focusing his thesis on effective training practices for new teachers.
In New York, Merlin became the Director of Programs for Teach For America NY, leading training for around 90 new teachers across Bronx schools with a focus on culturally responsive and student-centered pedagogy. To address the broader needs he saw in education, he launched several entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at supporting new teachers, dual-language students, and students in temporary housing.
As Co-founder of Planning Period, an AI-powered lesson planning platform aimed at helping teachers build culturally responsive, standards-aligned lessons that reflect their students’ communities and experiences, Merlin oversees product design and research, working closely with educators to integrate feedback and evidence-based practices to continuously enhance the platform. Planning Period is grounded in the idea that accessible, relevant teaching tools can make lesson planning easier for teachers while creating meaningful learning experiences for students.
Through our new partnership program, Planning Period is free for all TFA Corps Members and Alumni, helping all members of our network develop individualized and community contextualized lesson plans and resources for their students, while employing a participatory action research framework to gather and implement feedback from all TFA users to further develop tools and features that will be useful for teachers writ-large.
Planning Period is an AI-powered lesson planning platform created by DFW ‘14 alum, Merlin Valdez, rooted in the feedback and experience of corps members, alumni school leaders, and partner school administrators in the TFA network. Planning Period’s mission is to make rigorous, culturally responsive teaching accessible to all teachers. Through our new partnership program, Planning Period is free for all TFA Corps Members and Alumni, helping all members of our network develop individualized and community contextualized lesson plans and resources for their students, while employing a participatory action research framework to gather and implement feedback from all TFA users to further develop tools and features that will be useful for teachers writ-large.
- TFA Alumni can sign up to Planning Period using this link: https://www.planningperiod.io/register?code=TFAALUM
- TFA Corps Members can sign up to Planning Period using this link: https://www.planningperiod.io/register?code=TFACM
Mike Yates
Senior Managing Director, Product Design
View Profile / Reinvention Lab @ TFA
Mike Yates is a Senior Designer at the Reinvention Lab at Teach For America, where he plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of education through innovative uses of technology. At the heart of his work is the mission to guide Teach For America toward emerging educational practices, focusing primarily on integrating artificial intelligence into learning environments.
As one of the leaders of AI initiatives within the organization, Mike orchestrates hackathons, crafts dynamic workshops, and trains staff on leveraging AI to enhance their impact. His work is not just about utilizing new technologies, but redefining the very essence of teaching and learning in an equitable and forward-thinking manner.
Driven by a vision of a transformative educational landscape, Mike is dedicated to realizing a future where innovation and equity define the learning experience for all.
About the Career Acceleration Virtual Event Series
Hosted by the Teach For America Career Center and select partners and contributors, the Career Acceleration Virtual Events Series is offered to our entire network to engage in career accelerating topics to help inspire and support mindsets, knowledge and skills that advance one’s own career. The event series occurs every fall. We are always looking for a range of diverse speakers and topics to engage our alumni and corps member network. If you are interested in becoming a Career Acceleration virtual speaker or presenter, click here to learn more.