Most schools are fighting two fires at the same time: math scores that will not move and attendance that keeps slipping. What makes it worse is the blind spot nobody talks about enough, the huge share of absences that come through with no explanation, no context, and no clear next step. If we do not know why students are missing class, we cannot fix chronic absenteeism, and if students are not in the room, even the best instruction cannot stick.

We sit down with Joe Filio, founder and CEO of EDIA, to unpack how AI in education can support both sides of the problem. Joe explains why districts often end up paying for three disconnected math tools (practice, assessment, intervention) and how EDIA combines them into one AI-powered math platform. We get specific about what an AI math coach actually does: it reads a student’s work, identifies the exact step that went wrong, and gives immediate feedback that helps learners who struggle at home without support. We also talk about what teachers see, including standards-based insights that make differentiation and small groups easier to run.

Then we shift to attendance intervention. Joe shares why “end of day” robocalls fail and how EDIA’s AI attendance solution connects to the student information system to text parents within minutes, document routine reasons, and escalate serious issues to the right staff. We cover real examples, how data dashboards reveal transportation gaps and patterns, and what it looks like to pilot and launch quickly in a district.

If you care about math achievement, MTSS workflows, and practical ways to reduce chronic absenteeism, this conversation will give you concrete ideas you can act on. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review, then tell us what attendance or math challenge you want to solve first.