This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Hopelab: As someone who’s transitioned from being a principal in Compton to founding an AI education platform, what specific challenges did you witness in traditional education that inspired Knowlej’s approach to student engagement?

Principal Rahh: Traditional education is often built on compliance rather than engagement. As a principal in Compton, I saw firsthand that many students, especially those from underserved communities weren’t disengaged because they lacked intelligence or potential; they were disengaged because they didn’t see the relevance of school in their lives. Schools have long relied on punitive measures like suspensions rather than incentives for positive behavior, which pushes students further away.

Knowlej flips that model. We use AI to personalize engagement and offer real, tangible rewards, whether it’s financial literacy tools, career experiences, or something as simple as sneakers or gift cards to reframe school as an opportunity rather than an obligation. When students feel seen, valued, and rewarded for showing up, they’re more likely to participate and persist in their education.

Hopelab: Can you share a specific example of how Knowlej’s reward system has transformed a struggling student’s relationship with engagement and learning?

Principal Rahh: Absolutely. One student in New Jersey had struggled with attendance and engagement for years. He felt school wasn’t for him; there was no real-world connection, and he didn’t see the value. When his school partnered with Knowlej, he started participating in our attendance challenge. Initially, he was motivated by the short-term rewards, but something powerful happened, he realized that by showing up consistently, he was earning points toward a sneaker raffle. Then, he won.

That small win sparked a bigger shift. He started engaging in lessons because he saw there was something in it for him. He joined a career exploration challenge we hosted, where students could earn rewards for learning about financial literacy and tech careers. That experience led him to enroll in a coding boot camp, something he had never considered before. Knowlej transformed his perception of school from something he had to do into something that worked for him.

This is the power of engagement when students see tangible benefits in their education, they lean in.

Hopelab: Your background in restorative justice practices is fascinating. How have these principles influenced the way Knowlej approaches student absenteeism and engagement?

Principal Rahh: Restorative justice is about relationships, accountability, and repair. It’s the opposite of punitive discipline. Too often, schools respond to absenteeism with blame: ‘Why aren’t you showing up?’ Instead, we ask, ‘What’s keeping you from showing up, and how can we remove that barrier?’

Knowlej applies restorative principles by creating a system of positive reinforcement. Rather than punishing students for missing school, we incentivize them to re-engage. Our 3R Framework — Re-engage, Restore, Reward — is rooted in the belief that students need to feel connected before they can fully participate.

• Re-engage: We use AI to personalize challenges and rewards that align with students’ interests.
• Restore: We help schools build a culture that makes students feel welcomed back, not shamed for past absences.
• Reward: We provide real incentives that acknowledge effort and progress, reinforcing positive behavior rather than penalizing setbacks.

Restorative justice taught me that relationships drive behavior. When students feel valued and connected, they show up—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

Hopelab: What role do you see AI playing in addressing educational inequity, and how does Knowlej ensure its technology serves students who might typically be left behind?

Principal Rahh: AI has the power to either widen or close the education gap — it depends on how we use it. At Knowlej, we’re intentional about using AI to level the playing field.
One of the biggest barriers in education is one-size-fits-all learning. AI allows us to personalize engagement. A student in a high-resource school with strong parental support may need a different kind of motivation than a student balancing school with economic hardships.

Knowlej’s AI adapts to each student’s needs, offering challenges and rewards that resonate with their personal situation.

Additionally, we ensure accessibility. Our platform works with schools that serve predominantly under-resourced and low-income students, and we partner with organizations to fund rewards so financial barriers don’t prevent students from benefiting. AI in education shouldn’t just be for elite institutions; it should be for the students who need it most.

Hopelab: With your experience both in traditional education and now in ed-tech, what’s your vision for how platforms like Knowlej can complement rather than replace classroom teaching?

Principal Rahh: Tech should enhance, not replace, educators. No AI or platform can replicate the power of a great teacher. Knowlej makes teaching and learning more engaging by integrating rewards and gamification into existing school systems.

Teachers are already stretched thin. They don’t have time to reinvent the wheel, so we designed Knowlej to integrate seamlessly into classrooms. Teachers can use our platform to run attendance challenges, incentivize participation, and even create rewards for academic progress all with minimal effort.

Hopelab: In today’s political climate, some investors might feel hesitant to back education interventions and technology that prioritize equity and restorative practices. What would you say to potential investors about the market opportunity and social impact of solutions like Knowlej?

Principal Rahh: Education is one of the most undervalued investment opportunities, and Knowlej is at the intersection of three high-growth markets: ed-tech, fintech, and gamification.

• Market Opportunity: Chronic absenteeism is a $56 billion crisis in the U.S. alone, costing schools funding and reducing long-term workforce potential. Schools and districts are actively looking for solutions to improve attendance and engagement. Knowlej provides a scalable, AI-powered solution with a strong recurring revenue model.
• Social Impact: The education system is outdated, and traditional interventions aren’t working. Knowlej is proving that incentivized engagement works—we’ve impacted over 15,000 students so far, and the demand is growing.
• Competitive Edge: Our ‘Attend to Win’ and ‘Learn to Earn’ models are a first-of-its-kind approach in education, combining AI, financial literacy, and gamified engagement to solve real problems.

For investors who believe that profit and impact aren’t mutually exclusive, Knowlej represents a category-defining opportunity. Companies that drive both economic value and social good are the future, and Knowlej is leading that movement in education.