No Magic Bullet: Martha Jez on What It Really Takes to Scale Educational Impact

 

What Partnership Actually Means

Fair Chance Learning is not an educational institution. It works within educational institutions, and that distinction matters. For Martha, partnership is not a strategy; it is the mechanism through which the organization makes any impact at all.

She described what that looks like when it comes to something like AI, which is reshaping education systems faster than most institutions can keep up with. Getting it right requires hearing from classroom teachers about what is actually happening, from school leaders about what is surfacing in staff rooms and parent calls, from government about the policy conditions being set, and from technology providers about what tools are actually available. No single role has the full picture. Collaboration is not optional; it is the only way to make decisions that are ethical, grounded, and actually useful.

A recent example: Fair Chance Learning convened an AI Summit at Microsoft’s headquarters, bringing together over 18 institutions from across Ontario and Manitoba. The day included Microsoft sharing research on the skills educators and students will need, followed by case studies from the Limestone District School Board and the Louis Riel School Division in Manitoba on how AI is being scaled in real school districts. Roundtable discussions were led by OISE Continuing and Professional Learning, Signal 49, and ECNO, the organization responsible for IT across 72 Ontario school boards. That kind of conversation, across technology, pedagogy, governance, and practice, is what it actually takes to move thoughtfully in a complex system.

The Partnership That Changed Everything

When asked about the milestones that have shaped Fair Chance Learning’s growth, Martha pointed to one above all: the early decision to partner with Microsoft.

That relationship opened a network that has defined much of what Fair Chance Learning does today. Through Microsoft, the organization was introduced to the Micro:bit Foundation, which took them deep into coding, STEM, and computational thinking in classrooms. It also opened doors to school districts’ special education departments, leading to work on assistive technology and Universal Design for Learning. One partnership led to another, and to another, in ways that Martha could not have predicted at the outset.

The lesson she draws from that is not about Microsoft specifically. It is about the multiplying effect of the right partnerships. When you find collaborators who share your values and whose networks reach where yours do not, the growth that follows is rarely linear.

Advice for Edupreneurs

For those building education innovations and thinking about how to scale, Martha’s guidance was grounded in the realities of how school systems actually work.

Before anything else, an idea or product needs to be validated by educators. It needs to be safe and secure, which means engaging the IT conversation early if technology is involved. If the work touches mental health and wellbeing, paraprofessionals need to be part of the conversation. And through all of it, the question of whether it genuinely serves students in the classroom has to stay central.

On finding the right rooms to be in: Martha pointed to teacher association conferences, which are rebuilding their attendance following the pandemic, as one of the most valuable places for edupreneurs to connect directly with educators, test their ideas, and hear honest feedback. Getting in front of the right people early, and listening more than pitching, is still the most reliable path forward.

The recording of this QuickCast is available here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7458194642648502272