On October 8, Columbia Union School District hosted a free workshop for educators, administrators, and school board members about the role and impact artificial intelligence (AI) can have on learning, operations, and policy in schools. Attendees representing several different school districts, county offices of education, and professional organizations heard from the California School Boards Association (CSBA), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), AI for Education, Teachally, Code.org, local schools, and legal counsel about the possibilities for positive innovative outcomes that stem from a responsible and meaningful approach to use AI tools.
“Education is in the midst of a sizable transformation that offers unique and concerning challenges and concerns while simultaneously promoting incredible benefits for what we can or should offer or do,” explained Dr. Nicolas Wade, Superintendent of Columbia Union School District. “Without question, this topic will be consuming much air from teachers, administrators, and board members over the coming months.”
Such topics presented included, but are not limited to, primary core curriculum programming, supplemental materials and pedagogy, workload efficiency, professional and ethical quandaries, student and teacher roles and responsibilities, legalese in administration, and items of consideration and consequence in board policy writing and implementation, and so on.
“But as we integrate AI into our schools, we must also navigate a range of complex issues,” explained Yuri Calderon, Executive Director of the Small Schools Districts’ Association. “The ‘AI in Education’ presentation provided me with an opportunity to focus my thoughts on this transformative technology.”
Mr. Calderon went on to explain his focus is on student data and privacy, equity and access, ethical uses for AI, possible overreliance on AI, and legal and policy implications in his October newsletter.
The event was designed to begin with a macro look at policy and law, only to gradually hone in on what positives can occur in the classroom by understanding national trends, exploring new programming opportunities for students, identifying available training, tools and curriculum resources for classrooms, and hearing about the trial and error of including AI into instruction and student learning.
“I especially appreciated the discussions on how we can avoid the mistakes of the past—like the initial resistance to adopting the internet twenty years ago,” reflected Mr. Ed Pelfrey, Superintendent of Sonora Union High School District. “It's refreshing to see that we are now taking a proactive, thoughtful approach to integrating new technologies, rather than reacting too late. By working together to embrace innovation with caution and care, we can avoid pitfalls and ensure that AI serves as a tool to enhance learning, rather than replace the critical human connections that define education.”
A highlight for many in attendance was the ability to hear from Ms. Leslie Newman, a teacher at Sonora High School, about students’ views on AI and how it is both interesting and concerning. Those in attendance felt her presentation and insight was “particularly eye-popping and interesting.”
“The workshop also encouraged us to reflect on potential scenarios that may arise as AI is implemented in our schools and provided us with valuable resources for taking next steps in our district’s integration of AI,” said Mr. Tom Hoskins, Superintendent of Vallecito Union School District.
Like Vallecito Union School District, many school districts are prioritizing the integration of AI into their Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). Ms. Nikki Navta, Senior Manager of Outreach and Adoption for Code.org, highlighted the number of curriculum opportunities and activities available to school districts to not just get students interested and involved in computer science, but emphasizing how AI is becoming integral to college and career pathways.
“This forum was a vital conversation about AI policy,” said Ms. Laura Schmitt, a teacher at Columbia Elementary School. “I look forward to learning about how to better prepare my students for a future where AI will be a feature of most career paths.”
ISTE shared resources available to all educators as they continue to discuss ways to move forward. And with such conversations about inclusion, it takes time to not only develop AI literacy for students and educators, but also to have the necessary dialogue about what an organization’s current needs are and what would be considered appropriate measures to meaningfully use generative AI tools. AI for Education presented on the importance of districts “crafting practical AI policies” that promote ethical use and guide implementation to have a strategic purpose and ultimately accomplish a specific task.
“We are moving forward with creating a cross-functional committee for Calaveras County to provide feedback and guidance regarding AI implementation in our schools,” explained Dr. Bill Redford, Director of Continuous Improvement and Leadership Development at the Calaveras County Office of Education. “Regardless of the challenges AI may present, I think the school leaders in the room recognized that AI could help bridge the gap in educational equity by providing personalized support to students of all backgrounds.”
In Calaveras, Dr. Redford elaborated on how they are moving forward with the “SEE” approach (Safe, Effective, and Ethical) when looking at AI in their schools. Further, they believe this and other conversations have made clear that AI is not a replacement for teachers, but a powerful tool to enhance their capabilities and personalize learning experiences.
“The information imparted will help our team at Sonora Elementary demystify and better support our educational partners, from students to parents to teachers and staff, as to a better understanding of how to harness the power and opportunity of AI while at the same time educating them on how to remain safe and aware, as we should with any tool,” said Ms. Kristie Quinn, Associate Principal at Sonora Elementary School. “We look forward to future opportunities to network and continue to build our understanding and application of AI within our educational community."
Attendees shared they would like to further explore legal considerations of addressing AI (i.e. student discipline, labor issues, and due process), hearing more “from the trenches” on how students and staff are responding to AI use, and “playing” with generative AI tools, as showcased that evening by Teachally (a tool meant to help teachers differentiate lessons and emphasize enrichment activities based on selected standards and content).
“AI offers us the opportunity to not only meet today’s challenges but also to transform the way we educate for future generations,” said Mr. Calderon. “I look forward to continuing these important conversations and partnering with leaders across California to ensure we make the most of this transformative technology.”
“We have already been asked by several if we plan to host additional events on AI in the future,” said Dr. Wade. “I think it is something we can most certainly organize and promote. We learned a lot this go around and there is clearly an appetite from the presenters and attendees to do more. So, I guess I am saying, ‘Yes, there will be.’”
Columbia Union School District is looking to host a day-long workshop for its neighbors facilitated by AI for Education about AI policy and adoption strategies. The intended audience would be school and district leaders, school board members, and technology managers. The goal is to build upon their foundational AI literacy and the technology’s impact on education, explore essential components of an effective AI implementation roadmap to integrate generative AI into an organization’s vision and strategic plan to improve teaching and learning, creating foundational AI policies and/or guidelines, and developing a system to review and pilot generative AI tools and respond to a fast-moving technology.
Columbia Union School District will begin holding professional development opportunities in early 2025 for their own staff that include an introduction to generative AI, prompt engineering for educators, AI guidelines and ethics, and using AI for lesson planning and differentiated instruction. Further topics going into the following school year will include how to introduce AI to students for proper use, re-defining assessment in the age of AI, and AI general and content-specific pedagogical strategies.
“We know students are actively using AI and we need to be equipped to help model appropriate usage and also compliment the learning environment,” explained Dr. Wade. “Given how fast-paced and evolving this technology is, we need to build up our own internal capacity to engage students with it and use it constructively ourselves. While this can be considered new and warrants some trepidation, it is undoubtedly potent and transformative to our institutions, the current and future workforce, and our way of life.”
