By nurturing teachers, empowering learners, and growing community partnerships, Ed Farm’s president is reaping results that reach far beyond Alabama.
INTERVIEW | by Jodie Buenning
Over the past five years, Ed Farm has evolved from a bold idea in Birmingham into a movement that is transforming education through technology, community, and purpose. This summer’s Future of Learning Summit marked a significant milestone, celebrating the organization’s rapid growth, local investments in innovative education programs, and a vision that extends well beyond Alabama to connect learning with workforce development and lifelong success.
As the organization aims for national and global influence, Ed Farm is doubling down on proven strategies: investing in teachers, empowering learners, and creating programs that are both relevant and scalable. We had the opportunity to speak with Ed Farm President Waymond Jackson (pictured, above) about the lessons learned over the past five years and plans for the next five years. We also asked him to share how Ed Farm is reshaping the future of education, one community at a time.
What part of Ed Farm’s model has proven most successful so far?
Our biggest success has been our challenge-based learning framework — which works because it’s hands-on and immediately relevant. This approach consistently produces measurable skill gains and, more importantly, confidence.
Why is building confidence such a central part of your work?
Teachers who were initially intimidated by technology are now leading professional development sessions for their peers. Adult learners who felt overwhelmed by new tech advancements are launching side businesses using digital platforms. Students who saw themselves as consumers of technology now see themselves as creators.
This confidence-first approach is now central to everything we do. We celebrate small wins, create peer mentorship opportunities, and ensure every program includes a capstone project where learners teach others. When someone can explain what they’ve learned, they own it, and that ownership instills a level of confidence that extends far beyond our programs.
‘When someone can explain what they’ve learned, they own it, and that ownership instills a level of confidence that extends far beyond our programs.’
How has your approach to community engagement evolved?
We are also very much leaning into our ability to convene and serve as a trusted partner with districts and communities. Moving forward, we see an opportunity to fill a critical role as a connector of ed tech to schools and communities—especially given some of the recent changes within the Department of Education.
What lessons have you learned in the first five years?
Early on, we did not have a specific focus beyond ‘cultivating change’ through digital education. We have since learned that impact comes from focus. Now, each Ed Farm program or initiative we launch has clear success metrics and serves our target populations. We also learned that sustainable change requires community buy-in and trust, not just institutional partnerships. Going forward, every expansion includes significant community engagement from day one.
What is your main focus for the next five years?
Our next chapter is about amplifying impact through strategic scale. By 2030, 90% of jobs will require digital skills — yet today’s workforce is underprepared. We’re positioning Ed Farm as the digital education partner for any community that is ready to prepare their students, educators, and adult learners for a tech-driven future.
‘By 2030, 90% of jobs will require digital skills — yet today’s workforce is underprepared.’
How has your organization’s reach changed since it was founded?
Ed Farm has seen significant growth over the past five years – from 1 district partnership, 26 Teacher Fellows and 1,000 students served to 13 district partnerships, 516 Teacher Fellows and over 5,000 students served across 348 schools.
How do you measure the long-term impact of your programs?
What really excites us is the multiplier effect of Ed Farm’s training. Each educator who goes through our fellowship will reach about 200 students annually with an average 14-year tenure. That means our 516 Teacher Fellows will ultimately impact 1.4 million students — that’s generational change.
‘Our 516 Teacher Fellows will ultimately impact 1.4 million students — that’s generational change.’
Can you share some of the measurable outcomes you’ve tracked?
We also measure critical impact metrics including increased tech confidence, salary increases, and achievements earned. Here are a few examples:
- Students: 2,247 apps developed and 30% increase in STEM career interest
- Educators: 24% increase in confidence teaching tech skills, 754 Apple certifications earned
- Adult learners: $1 million in salary increases amongst Pathways to Tech workforce program graduates
Additionally, our ability to expand our community-based work to multiple cities with the support from mayors of those cities speaks volumes to the impact that our programming has with community members.
The Ed Farm model is highly localized. How does it scale nationally or globally?
Ed Farm is creating a world where all people have access to the tools they need to fill or create the jobs of the future. Our goal has always been to establish Birmingham as the epicenter for the radical re-thinking of education and to make the Ed Farm the global hub for technology-based solutions for closing the educational opportunity gap. Our first five years provided us an opportunity to test new learning models in our own backyard of Birmingham and implement many of them in other communities across the state.
On the Farm. Launched in partnership with Apple and the Alabama Power Foundation in 2020, Ed Farm is a 501(c)(3) organization that empowers educators, students, and adult learners not only to thrive in today’s digital age but also to prepare them for the advancements of tomorrow. Through tech-focused programming, leading-edge learning environments, and innovative tools, Ed Farm is on a mission to close the growing digital skills gap in communities across the southeast and beyond. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Ed Farm is part of Propel Education alongside Propel Center. Visit.
How does your model adapt to local needs while maintaining consistency?
While currently focused in the Southeast, the Ed Farm model is designed for replication and scale across the U.S. and into global markets that are under-prepared for the digital future. Each Ed Farm hub operates with shared methodology, curricula, and impact measurement, but adapts programming to local workforce needs, educational contexts, and community assets. For example, a rural Alabama hub might focus heavily on agricultural technology whereas a more urban hub could explore the future of mobility.
What specific strategies do you use to expand your reach?
Moving forward, we scale through three mechanisms. First, our train-the-trainer model empowers dynamic digital educators to become ongoing champions. Second, we’re developing digital platform tools that allow communities to access Ed Farm resources independently, while also powering student learning with technology. Third, we’re creating remote learning hubs ((Connected Rural Classrooms) that allow for resource sharing and instruction beyond geographical barriers.
Why is local self-sufficiency such an important part of your vision?
While digital skills gaps are universal, our solutions must be contextual and by maintaining local relevance while leveraging national partnerships and resources, we create sustainable impact that doesn’t depend on us being physically present everywhere. As a result, communities become digitally self-sufficient — which is ultimately more powerful than any single organization trying to serve everyone directly.
‘…communities become digitally self-sufficient — which is ultimately more powerful than any single organization trying to serve everyone directly.’
How do you plan to expand regionally and beyond?
Over the next 5 years, we plan to expand into more counties and school districts across the Southeast and beyond with strategic civic and private sector partnerships. This will include a state-backed, workforce development initiative focused on the Alabama Black Belt region where digital equity gaps are the widest.
What does long-term success look like for Ed Farm in these new communities?
We’re not just aiming to expand rapidly, but to create sustainable ecosystems where our programs and learning spaces become an embedded part of the communities we serve.
How are federal policy changes and new initiatives shaping your next steps?
In addition, there are new opportunities that exist as a result of ongoing changes in the federal education landscape and Ed Farm is prepared to be a trusted digital education partner. Soon, with the announcement of a new global education technology collaborative, Ed Farm will take a bold step in formalizing a learning model that places students, educators, adult learners and ed tech entrepreneurs at the forefront of learning and ed tech innovations.
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Jodie Buenning, CEO and Principal Strategist at Buenning Strategies, is a veteran of the edtech sector with deep expertise in public relations, communications, and marketing. She is a Contributing Writer for EdTech Digest and a Future Focus Forums (“F3”) Corporate Advisor. Connect with Jodie on LinkedIn.
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