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Mike Palmer welcomes back Friend of the Show, AJ Gutierrez, the pioneering co-founder of Saga Education, now CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS). AJ shares his transition from direct service to a focus on systemic change, detailing the crucial, often overlooked, mission of EOS: identifying and accelerating equitable opportunity for high-potential students. Historically, education equity conversations focus on raising students to grade level; EOS tackles the issue of "stranded brilliance" by finding students—disproportionately Black and Brown students experiencing poverty—who are ready for advanced coursework but are being overlooked. AJ cites compelling research from Mathematica demonstrating that students placed in AP classes through the EOS process perform just as well as control groups, confirming they were ready all along. The conversation pivots to the broader K-12 landscape, touching on threats to federal data infrastructure (e.g., IES, NSF funding) and the role of AI. AJ stresses that while techno