This summer, Learner Studio piloted a bold idea: what if high school students learned not just how to use AI, but how to use it ethically and in service of their communities? With support from partners including DSST Public Schools, Boston Public Schools, City Year, Local Civics, and Learning Heroes, the program invited young people in Boston and Denver to explore “humanics”—the skills of collaboration, empathy, and civic engagement—alongside the rise of artificial intelligence.

The students didn’t just sit in classrooms. They mapped community assets, debated AI’s role in society, and used design thinking to imagine the futures they want to build. Through GIS mapping, AI-powered empathy interviews, and civic simulations, they practiced how to balance technological tools with human connection. As one student put it: “We don’t want AI to take over, we just want to live alongside it.”

Learner Studio’s July 2025 report, Human Skills in the Age of AI, underscores why this matters. Research shows that young people who develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills are better prepared for careers, civic life, and leadership. Yet these abilities are too often treated as extras, not essentials. The pilot showed that when students combine curiosity with civic purpose and creativity, they not only build confidence but also learn how to use emerging technology responsibly.

This work connects to a broader national conversation about reinventing high school. At SXSW EDU 2025, a panel hosted by the Walton Family Foundation brought together educators, edtech innovators, and leaders—including Learner Studio co-founder Babak Mostaghimi—to explore how high schools must evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century. The conversation spotlighted competency-based learning, networks of innovative schools, and new models that make high school more relevant, engaging, and future-ready. Learner Studio’s summer pilot is one example of those ideas in action: students preparing for college, career, and civic life by blending human skills with technological fluency.

And this summer was only the beginning. Learner Studio, alongside educators, nonprofits, and thought partners nationwide, is working to scale programs that strengthen human skills alongside AI literacy. The goal isn’t to train students to compete with machines, but to thrive alongside them—and to shape a future where AI becomes a tool for we, not just me.

Families and teachers want real conversations about student progress. Go Beyond Grades is a national public awareness campaign that sounds the alarm about the gap between what parents think about their child’s learning and real student achievement scores. 

Created in spring 2023, Go Beyond Grades juxtaposes parent perceptions about their child’s learning and real student achievement scores, and connects families with local academic resources. It has touched down in Boston, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Houston, New York City, Sacramento County, St. Louis, and continues to spread to new communities across the country, such as Ft. Worth and rural Texas.

Almost 9 in 10 parents nationally think their children are on grade level, despite a steady stream of data that shows the reality of declining student achievement. Nationally, only around one-third of students are on grade level in reading and math. How is this possible? Learning Heroes’ research has shown that parents rely on report card grades as their primary source of information, and around 8 in 10 parents say their kids receive B’s or better.

Teachers say the number one way for parents to know how their child is achieving is to ask the teacher. So, we’re asking parents to go beyond grades by exploring our free tips and tools, and by teaming up with their child’s teachers.

Nationally, Go Beyond Grades has reached 82 million people through billboards in English and Spanish in our target communities; 346.8 million through the media and 34.2 million through digital ads; and 150,000 through our websites. Go Beyond Grades has touched down in Boston, Chicago, the District of Columbia, Houston, New York City, Sacramento, and St. Louis, and continues to spread to new communities across the country.

Featured news coverage:

• PBS NewsHour: Study shows parents overestimate their student’s academic progress
• Newsweek: Parents: Your Kids Can’t Read. It’s Time to Get Angry—and Act | Opinion
• TIME: Many American Parents Have No Idea How Their Kids Are Doing in School
• LA Times: Nine in ten parents say their child is at grade level. About one in four are.
• Axios Boston: Campaign aims to reverse pandemic learning loss

National funders:

• Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin and Griffin Catalyst (Spring and Summer 2023, Fall 2023)
• Overdeck Family Foundation (Spring and Summer 2023)
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Spring and Summer 2023)
• Clear Channel Outdoor (in-kind support, Spring and Summer 2023)