Creating Strong Competitive Advantages for All Students: A School District’s AI Playbook
While AI tools continue to develop in rapid fashion, guidance across school districts, states, and the federal government has pretty much remained the same.
With many school districts returning from spring break, we are in the final sprint through testing season and the end of the school year. On the horizon, though, is the biggest opportunity to inform a change in strategy, planning, or training around AI for school districts. The ever crucial summer planning season and the in-service training weeks.
Here’s the situation we currently find ourselves in — I know there are so many educators, education leaders, and schools out there ready to explore a change. They are hungry for sustainability in work and methods to create more student engagement in lessons, assessments, and teaching practices.
The reality is though, we are in the thick of it right now, I feel it, you feel it, we all feel it. We are tired, learning is tough, planning is tough, reflecting is tough.
So what do we do?
While the way forward may seem murky or unclear right now, I’m excited to share one school district’s playbook, maybe the best playbook I’ve seen up close and personal to date: St. Vrain Valley Schools in Colorado.
If you are ready for a change, I invite you to sit back and make a note of some of the many gems Diane Lauer, Chief Academic Officer of St. Vrain Valley Schools shares with us today. Diane has so many deep experiences in education leadership and technology and she was gracious enough to open her playbook and school community.
Here’s some of my many takeaways from Diane’s master class:
St. Vrain Valley Students are eager to learn and engage with AI…and believe in guard rails
While media continues to highlight narratives around cheating and academic integrity, St. Vrain has found their students are eager to learn and engage with AI but also believe there should be guidelines for how to use AI in the classroom, based on a survey they asked students to complete.
To create access for marginalized students with AI, build initiatives into your bread and butter programs
In thinking about how to make AI learning accessible for marginalized students, Diane and St. Vrain encouraged P-Tech pathway teachers — educators who lead bio-medical, engineering, and stem career courses to explore AI in their classroom. P-Tech pathways have historically been successful at recruiting underrepresented students in St. Vrain. Rather than creating an entirely new initiative, they are building on their bread and butter programs.
AI outreach requires differentiation for key stakeholders
In the early stages of their AI implementation plan, Diane and her team recognized they would need a thoughtful and differentiated plan for building buy in and literacy across key stakeholders.
Families can bridge the chasm between AI at home and AI in schools
Families tend to be at the end of the list for stakeholder priorities when districts implement new initiatives. In St. Vrain, prioritizing family engagement in AI learning experiences is fulfilling a critical need; not only are they building AI literacy in a key stakeholder group, families can bridge the chasm between AI products students might be using at home (snapchat, ROBLOX) and in school (chatgpt, firefly).
Financial sustainability, privacy standard, and unique need are criteria for AI product selection
Amid the current AI arms race and wave of AI products, Diane and St. Vrain ask themselves three critical questions when determining any AI products for their schools: Can we afford it long term? Does it meet our privacy standard? Does it meet a unique need?
Massive thank you to Diane Lauer and St. Vrain Valley Schools for opening a window into the tremendous work across their school community.
Check out our full conversation here. Join the conversation at TheAIEducationConversation.com
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