Edtech innovators are dedicated to finding collaborative, data-informed solutions to real-world problems.
Maya Gat, Co-Founder and CEO of Branching Minds—a leading K-12 Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) management platform—chats about new AI components in their dynamic Collaborator Suite, which earned a nod in T&L’s Most Influential Edtech of 2025 issue.
What does T&L’s “Top Innovative Product” nod mean on your journey to develop solutions for complex challenges in education?
Being named a “Top Innovative Product” by Tech & Learning is a full-circle moment. It validates a vision that started in the classroom—where I felt the daily frustration of not having the right tools to truly understand and support every student. Teaching is inherently collaborative, yet educators are often siloed, overwhelmed by fragmented data and disconnected systems.
The initial idea for Branching Minds was born out of that pain point. I entered the EdTech Idea Challenge not just with an idea, but with urgency—the urgency of an educator who knew things had to change. Winning that challenge and later receiving a global innovation award before even building the product proved the need was real.
Now, twelve years later, being recognized by Tech & Learning affirms that we’ve stayed true to that original mission: creating tools that simplify complexity, connect educators, and make a meaningful impact on student learning. It’s a sign that we’re not just building products—we’re solving real problems that educators face every day.
Branching Minds has long been a leader in helping districts implement effective MTSS practices. How has the company’s mission evolved?
Branching Minds has always recognized a critical gap between research and practice. It’s like having a cure but not the prescription—so much valuable knowledge exists in academic circles, but if it isn’t accessible or actionable for teachers, it doesn’t help kids.
The company’s mission has evolved from simply bridging that gap to transforming how districts approach MTSS at every level. Branching Minds focuses not just on curating the most effective, evidence-based practices, but on empowering educators with tools that integrate those practices seamlessly into their day-to-day work. By aligning intervention strategies with real-time data and simplifying decision-making, Branching Minds is helping schools move from theory to impact—ensuring that every student gets the support they need, when they need it.
What inspired Branching Minds’ Collaborator Suite, and what impact is it having on educators?
The inspiration came from a recurring challenge we saw across districts: educators were expected to collaborate around student support, but the systems in place made that incredibly difficult. Meetings were time-consuming to organize, data was scattered across platforms, and the pressure to make high-stakes decisions often fell on individuals rather than teams. We realized that to truly make MTSS work, we needed to support the people doing the work—by making collaboration easier, faster, and more effective.
The Collaborator Suite was designed to solve this. It brings together smart scheduling, AI-driven data summaries, and best-practice guidance in one place. For example, our Meeting Assistant prepares quick-read reports that pull together academic, behavior, and attendance data—freeing up time for educators to focus on planning interventions rather than digging through spreadsheets.
We also introduced “Ask Dottie,” an AI assistant trained on more than 2,500 evidence-based learning supports and decades of best practice research. Dottie helps educators navigate data-driven decision making by providing educators quick answers to questions about specific student needs or instruction recommendation like which evidence based strategy to use to teach math fact fluency for students with math anxiety, or which students are not making sufficient progress and may need a different support plan. We like to think of Dottie as an educator’s best friend ready to help them connect all their data dots so teachers can focus on the joy of teaching. So, it made all the sense in the world to us that she is also a sassy yet supportive smarty pants French bulldog who wears cat-eyed glasses.
The impact has been powerful. Educators tell us they feel more aligned, more confident, and more equipped to make decisions that truly support student success and give them the time back so that they can focus on what really matters—building relationships with learners.
How does Branching Minds ensure its AI solutions offer student data protection?
Unlike some tools, Branching Minds never uses student data to train AI models. We’re fully FERPA, COPPA, and state-law compliant, and a proud signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge, with SOC 2 Type II certification—the gold standard. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest, hosted securely on AWS, with strict access controls and regular audits.
What excites you most about the future of MTSS and the role Branching Minds will play?
What excites me most is the sheer potential of MTSS as a powerful engine for aligned, proactive, student-centered decision-making. It brings together everything that contributes to a thriving school environment—academic growth, behavioral support, emotional wellness, attendance, and even staff collaboration—into one cohesive, purpose-driven system.
Branching Minds is uniquely positioned to amplify that potential. We’re not building tools in isolation—we’re building connective technology that empowers educators to work smarter, faster, and more collaboratively. As MTSS continues to expand in reach and depth, our role is to keep innovating in ways that make it easier for school teams to stay aligned, act with clarity, and support every learner with confidence.
The future is one where schools are not just reacting to needs but anticipating them—together. By helping more stakeholders connect more dots, we can ensure that every learner has a chance to find their path to academic and personal success. That’s what drives us every day.
