By Jonathan Briggs, Director of Strategy, Technology and Innovation
Something intriguing is unfolding recently in Eastside Prep’s Building 5. Rather than classrooms lined with traditional desks and projectors, the space is now home to a modern workspace, featuring conference rooms, collaborative open areas, and a professional atmosphere.
This transformation began when Eastside Prep moved into the building, reimagining its existing features to launch the In-Residence program—our effort to build a conduit into the professional world.
Our inaugural In-Residence partner is colleague.ai, a start-up company that began as research at the University of Washington’s College of Education. Their mission is compelling:
“Transform K-12 education by creating a comprehensive educational technology platform, where our AI assistants act as knowledgeable colleagues for educators and friendly buddies for learners. We aim to foster a dynamic, personalized, and collaborative educational experience for everyone in school or after school.”
As a human-centered AI platform, colleague.ai supports both educators and students in meaningful, research-backed ways. For teachers, it aims to improve the process of lesson planning and assessments by using AI tools to look at their lessons from various perspectives—taking research into educational pedagogy and using it as a lens on their existing material and exploring new types of assessments afforded by AI integration. They are both ambitious and grounded in their approach to this complex task.
After moving into Building 5 this past May, they immediately became an active and integrated part of our community. The relationship is mutually enriching: Eastside Prep provides colleague.ai with a workspace at a competitive rental rate, while colleague.ai contributes significantly to our school’s educational environment. The team will conduct seminars on AI ethics this coming year, serve as resources for students engaged in independent curriculum and academic teams, and are a resource for faculty as they imagine what is possible and what challenges await them in the classroom due to this new technology.
In the last weeks of the school year, we ran a variety of prototype scenarios through Building 5:
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Seniors have found the space ideal for independent project work, echoing the feel of college library floors or vibrant coffee shops.
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Faculty have used the workspace to focus on professional development portfolios.
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Students have interacted directly with UX designers and AI workflow engineers, refining their projects through real-time feedback.
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Teachers hosted joint office hours during the tenth-grade Model UN project, facilitating student access to faculty support in a central location.
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Teachers brought classes to Building 5 for them to engage in project work in an alternate environment.
In all cases, we were impressed with the focus a new environment brought. A little more quiet and a little more professional, the environment disrupted the familiar school atmosphere that our students have grown up in and allowed them to work a little bit differently. It isn’t better, our campus atmosphere is incredible, just that it is different.
As students use these diverse workspaces, they will begin to notice what works for them based on what they are working on. They can bring that knowledge into college and beyond as they seek the environment that supports the work that they are trying to accomplish.
The mission of colleague.ai:
Transform K-12 education by creating a comprehensive educational technology platform, where our AI assistants act as knowledgeable colleagues for educators and friendly buddies for learners. We aim to foster a dynamic, personalized, and collaborative educational experience for everyone in school or after school.
This partnership reflects a continual aspiration at Eastside Prep—to constantly look for ways to improve the student experience. How might we complement our strong academic program with some insight into the world beyond EPS? Could we create an authentic professional environment without leaving campus? For years it was an idea in the back of our mind, but we had no way of making it possible.
The recent purchases of neighboring buildings brought the idea within reach. Eastside Prep has always leaned into these moments, knowing that sometimes the best way to find out whether an idea will work is to start doing it.
As we work through all the logistical challenges that come with shared space and bringing a company onto campus, from background checks to conference room reservations, we are inspired by the value that has already been brought to both organizations. colleague.ai has been able to talk with EPS teachers about their product and watch students use features in real-time. EPS teachers and students have attended colleague.ai office hours to understand more about what is possible with AI from use in the classroom to integration with student projects. In this coming year, colleague.ai will also teach seminars on AI Ethics.
Looking ahead, we envision the In-Residence program including professionals from a wide range of industries and backgrounds who will share space with our oldest students by spending part of their work time in Building 5.
It is an opportunity for the broader community to connect with our students, and for faculty and staff to highlight their own past and current experiences, as we build bridges into the world beyond EPS. This will give students, despite not knowing exactly what the future will look like, confidence that they can thrive within it. Stay tuned for more details later this year.
In addition to the inspiration and excitement that the In-Residence program brings, it also functions to reduce student anxiety around the future. As I think back to my first days at college or my first office job, it was intimidating stepping into both of those experiences. Not because of the reality of what they were but because of the perception of them.
College and work, in my imagination, were built out of stories and media portrayals. It turns out, college was not all parties and hazing—it looked a lot more like people reading and doing homework. There were certainly parties and drama, but those were punctuation marks on an otherwise regular experience.
Similarly with work, some days were full of excitement but many more just getting things done with a bunch of other people doing the same. My first task was to normalize the formatting of dates on web articles. It doesn’t get more mundane than that.
Our hypothesis is that by bringing professionals to campus, students will begin to see that whether they are pursuing the most cutting-edge technology or pursuing historical research—the future involves working with peers toward some objective. They have been doing that successfully while they have been at Eastside Prep and so long as they go into the future with an open mind able to work with people, they will find their way. The reality of the future is not as intimidating as we imagine.
As we continue to shape and grow the In-Residence program, we are excited for what lies ahead and the possibilities it will open up for our students and community. The best ideas often come from collaboration and challenge. We welcome your questions, insights, and feedback as we find out what is possible with this groundbreaking program.
If you are interested in exploring further how we integrate innovation thoughtfully into our educational landscape, I encourage you to listen to the May 16, 2025 Insightful Questions podcast hosted by our Head of School, Sam Uzwack. In that episode, I joined Sam and Dr. Min Sun, co-founder of colleague.ai, to dive deeper into our shared vision for the In-Residence program at Eastside Prep.