A 5-part series on breaking barriers, building trust, and driving educational equity with AI
Right now, the discussion about AI in education is everywhere—dominating headlines, inspiring hope, and raising tough questions. From breakthrough innovations to concerns about equity and ethics, the conversation is loud and ongoing. And complicated.
So we want to cut through the noise and show some of the real ways AI is improving communities.
At TalkingPoints, we believe the most important question isn’t ‘How do you use AI?’—it’s: ‘How can we use AI to do the most good for students, families, and educators—especially in communities that have long been under-resourced?’
As we celebrate 10 years of impact, we’re launching a new blog series to explore that question from our perspective as an AI-native organization. Over five parts, we’ll spotlight how we’ve used AI to break down barriers and unlock the superpower of families. We’ll share what we’ve learned along the way and what’s next as we build toward a brighter future in education.
We’re excited to share our reflections, tools, and lessons learned—and to hear from you. What questions are you asking about AI? What possibilities are you exploring? Let’s shape the future together.
📩 Have thoughts, hopes, or worries about AI in education? Send us a note—we’re listening.
Part 1 – From translation to transformation: How TalkingPoints uses AI to build human connection
Written by Chris Dudak,
Senior Manager, Product Management at TalkingPoints
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping every industry, and education is no exception. At TalkingPoints, we’re doing something different: we’re using AI not to replace human interaction, but to deepen it. As a linguist, product manager and parent, I’ve seen firsthand how thoughtful use of technology, especially AI, can break down barriers and build trust between schools and families.
That’s why, over the past four years, I’ve helped evolve our product into something far greater than a translation tool. Today, it’s an AI-powered communication platform that’s helping millions of educators and families connect across languages, cultures and systems.
AI working to serve students and families
Our guiding principle is simple: technology should serve people, not the other way around. At TalkingPoints, we’ve been leveraging machine learning, natural language processing and Large Language Models (LLMs) to:
- Improve translation quality in 150 languages
- Expand support for low-resource and underrepresented languages
- Clarify meaning based on the context of each conversation
- Ensure inclusive, culturally aware communication that reflects real-world use
These advancements make communication between families and schools faster, more accurate and more empathetic. And unlike general-purpose translation tools, ours is trained specifically for the education space, with the nuances, jargon, and emotional weight that come with it.
Seeing the platform grow: smarter, faster and more impactful
When I joined TalkingPoints four years ago, our technology was already solving a real problem. But what excites me is how far we’ve come in a relatively short time. Today’s platform is dramatically more sophisticated, efficient and effective. Our AI models understand not just language, but intent, tone and educational context. Whether it’s decoding acronyms like RTI or IEP, or translating a delicate behavioral message, our platform learns from every message it processes – millions and counting.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to help drive that growth as part of the product team, combining my background in machine translation and localization with the lived experience of being a parent navigating the education system.
Why translation in education needs a different approach
Translation in education is about more than just words – it’s about systems, policies, and relationships. Many of the terms educators use every day, like 504 Plan, MAP testing or SEL, don’t have direct equivalents in other languages. That’s why we’ve built custom education-specific translation glossaries and continue to refine them through community input and real-world usage.
And for the languages that have little to no off-the-shelf AI support—like Cabo Verdean, Karen, Chuukese and Marshallese—we’re partnering directly with native speakers, educators, and community leaders to build from the ground up.
This commitment to breaking down barriers is core to our mission: no family should be excluded because their language isn’t considered “mainstream.”
Staying human-centered
While we leverage technology and AI to solve problems, one thing has remained a constant: people are at the heart of everything we do. From the very beginning, TalkingPoints has kept humans in the loop because effective communication requires empathy, care and context. Whether it’s a teacher sending a sensitive message or a parent asking a question in their own words, we make sure the human intent is preserved.
And always, privacy and trust come first.
🎥 Want to see this in action?
What’s next?
This post is the first in a 5-part series on how TalkingPoints is using AI to take on some of the biggest equity challenges in education. From supporting multilingual classrooms to scaling insights from family feedback, our goal is to lead in AI innovation, with people at the center.
Because in the end, AI is just a tool. The real transformation happens when we use it to bring people closer together.
Celebrating 10 years of partnership and impact
For a decade, TalkingPoints has supported students, families, and educators through the power of effective family-school partnerships. As an education technology nonprofit, our award-winning communication and family engagement platform has improved outcomes for districts and students across the country.
We connect 9 million+ educators, students, and family members annually and have facilitated more than one billion conversations—building trust, fostering relationships, and fueling student success. Named by Common Sense Education as “the best overall family communication platform for teachers and schools,” TalkingPoints drives measurable gains in attendance and academic achievement, backed by rigorous, causal research.
Join us in building a future where every child has the support they need to thrive.
