Magic School uses AI to help kids learn, not cheat | E2196

October 21, 2025

AI Summary

5 min read

Magic School founder Adil Khan explains how his platform deploys AI to assist teachers with daily tasks and personalize student learning, countering fears of AI enabling cheating. The episode also covers a founder question on employee equity vesting and a pitch for flywheel-based energy storage from On The Fly Energy.

Tools for Teachers and Classroom Differentiation

Magic School acts as a "teacher co-pilot," generating rubrics, lesson plans, and differentiated materials based on teacher inputs like state standards and student needs. Teachers upload requirements, add instructions, edit outputs, and create variations—for instance, simplifying rubrics for students three grade levels behind, translating them into Spanish for English learners, or advancing them for high achievers. This addresses real classroom diversity: ninth-grade English classes often mix students new to the language, those far behind, and those ahead. Khan, a former teacher and principal, emphasizes that AI augments teachers, who remain central—"teachers are magic." Tools reduce burnout from impossible expectations, like handling multilingual, capability-spread classes without support. They also aid novice or under-certified staff, such as long-term subs or career teachers, by simplifying lesson-building. Onboarding is fast due to intuitive design tailored to educators' technical workflows, often praised as

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Episode Intro** - Alex previews Magic School interview, Ramp Q&A, and Gamma Pitch
2 (03:04) **Magic School Overview** - Adil Khan explains AI copilot for teachers, student tools, and district sandboxes
3 (05:08) **Teacher Tools Deep Dive** - Differentiation addresses classroom diversity and burnout
4 (08:04) **Teacher Proficiency and Shortage** - Tool eases onboarding for novices amid 412k unfilled roles
5 (11:30) **Growth Metrics** - 6.5M users, tops district AI adoption chart
6 (12:49) **Organic Distribution** - No marketing until 1M users; teacher word-of-mouth
7 (14:08) **Business Model** - Free tier for teachers; Plus/Enterprise to districts

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Are AI tools in the classroom just time-savers, or can they have genuine educational value?In a must-watch TWiST 500 interview, Alex chats with Magic School founder (and former principal) Adeel Khan about how AI tools can make teachers more effective, and keep students inspired, without just doing all the work for them. He talks about turning an AI chatbot into a true assistant teacher, that keeps the lessons balanced yet challenging, and particularly empowers classroom novices and non-professionals.THEN… is 6 years too long for employees to wait to vest? Is this just another founder trying to reinvent EVERYTHING, just because they can’t resist? Ramp CEO Eric Glyman joins Jason and Alex to answer pressing founder questions from viewersPLUS there’s a new entrant in our Gamma Pitch Deck competition, and it’s so compelling, Jason can’t wait to invest! Kris Canete of On the Fly Energy tells us about America’s fragile power grid and his elegant solution: flywheel energy storage!Timestamps:0:00 - Welcome to TWiST!02:59 - Former principal Adeel Khan of TWiST 500's Magic School AI tells us why “teachers are magic”09:41 - Goldbelly ships America’s most delicious, iconic foods nationwide! Get 20% off your first order by going to Goldbelly.com and using the promo code TWiST at checkout.10:50 - How AI tools can particularly help out classroom novices and non-pros who are just getting started20:57 - Check out the online payroll and benefits experts with software built specifically for small business and startups. Try Gusto today and get three months FREE at Gusto.com/twist.26:58 - How Magic School stays ahead of shifting standards across different states and regions32:57 - Zite is the fastest way to build *business software* with AI. Build apps, forms, websites and portals that connect to the tools you already use. Go to *zite.com/twist* to get started.33:30 - Why the best feedback Adeel ever got came from a teenager36:30 - Making AI a true assistant teacher, that keeps lessons balanced yet challenging38:38 - Is a 6-year vesting schedule too aggressive? Eric Glyman responds.41:00 - When even ambitious founders should sometimes just accept a standard deal.57:33<