The room where EdTech founders compare notes.

Finding the balance between teachers, parents and vendors with AI.

Rick Surrency was elected Superintendent of the Putnam County School District (Florida) in 2016, and re-elected in 2020 and 2024, after 38 years in education as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal. Under his leadership, PCSD’s graduation rate rose from 54.9% in 2015 to 92.5% in 2021 - the largest gain of any district in the state - and all nine of the district’s D- and F-graded schools were turned around. He was named 2023 Florida Superintendent of the Year and 2025 National Superintendent of the Year.

Florida just passed a law requiring parental opt-in for AI instruction - the first state to legislate on it, with others expected to follow. Surrency’s take: AI is “like swimming with an elephant” - you can’t beat it, so you swim alongside it, but you put guardrails up.