Elevating AI Strategies in Schools: Navigating the Next Wave of Innovation

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly transitioned from an emerging technology to an essential component of modern education. This shift presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges for schools worldwide. Some things feel very different from when we wrote about this in 2023, and yet, some things feel strangely the same. This article seeks to update our initial post How Schools Can Elevate Their AI Strategy: Essential Building Blocks, by reconsidering our approach to this emerging technology.

Even as AI becomes more prevalent in schools, educational core values remain unchanged. These principles—building meaningful relationships with students, ensuring content relevance, and fostering critical thinking - should guide how we integrate AI into our classrooms. Rather than letting AI reshape our values, we should let these proven elements drive AI strategy.

We recently spent a day working with Berkeley Carroll School on their AI initiatives. We really appreciated their approach to AI as an “arrival technology”—acknowledging that AI’s presence is here to stay and will likely reshape the way we live and work. This recognition is coupled with a clear commitment to maintaining foundational educational values as the driving force behind their AI strategy. For Berkeley Carroll, that means prioritizing AI literacy and developing an understanding of both the opportunities and challenges AI brings to educational spaces. Their approach is grounded in helping students and educators adapt with purpose, encouraging questions, discovery, and responsible decision-making within a community framework.

This strategic orientation was crafted with input from an AI taskforce and shaped by a summer collaboration among school leaders, including Stephen Seng-hua Mak, Ph.D., Assistant Head of School for Program and Innovation, Aidan Lucey, Director of Educational Technology, and Erika Drezner, US English Department Chair. The team emphasized vision over policy, using Berkeley Carroll’s Portrait of a Learner as a guide.

This example highlights the importance of rooting AI initiatives in the values of the school and using those values as a compass to navigate the complex terrain of AI integration in schools. Other institutions can look to Berkeley Carroll’s emphasis on vision, literacy, and community accountability as essential elements of a sustainable, responsible AI strategy.

Drawing from Berkeley Carroll's experience and other schools' implementations, we can identify several concrete steps that institutions can take to develop their own AI strategies while staying true to their school’s mission.

1. Start with your mission

AI work must be rooted in your existing values. No matter which step you decide to take, lead with what you are already doing well.

2. Prioritize AI Literacy Initiatives

Equip students, educators, and staff with foundational knowledge about AI. AI literacy encompasses the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable individuals to understand AI’s strengths, limitations, and societal impacts:

• Organize literacy workshops to deepen understanding of AI tools

• Curate materials like articles, case studies, and tool guides accessible to both beginners and advanced users to support ongoing learning

• Give every educator time to play and experiment with AI

3. Consider AI Ethics Committees

Create dedicated bodies to:

• Discuss ethical considerations and compliance

• Ensure diverse perspectives, be sure to include students

• Consider initiatives to ensure equitable access

4. Foster AI Communities of Practice (Task Force)

Encourage collaboration among educators:

• Facilitate regular workshops and training sessions

• Create platforms for sharing experiences and best practices

• Establish mentorship programs pairing tech-savvy educators with those less familiar with AI

5. Invest in Infrastructure

Upgrade technological capabilities to support advanced AI tools:

• Consider a plan for licensing and platforms

• Implement clear data privacy measures

• Ensure equitable access to AI resources across the school

These concrete steps can be taken individually or as a whole. For University Liggett School, the best next step meant jumping into an AI task force. Their Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning, Adam Hellebuyck, told us, “We wanted to get to a place of developing AI literacy among our community, rather than just policies for its use. Therefore, we knew we had to get a group together that represented various constituencies in our school. This would include faculty, staff, administrators, and parents (and maybe even students in later stages), but also users of various skill levels. Our goals for this group are to center around the current research, inventory how our community connects with AI in the present, examine and evaluate the paths that other schools have taken so far, and recommend next steps.”

As with any emerging technology, the collective efforts of our school communities can shape a future where AI enriches the school experience for all learners. Schools are uniquely positioned to lead in this space if they take up the charge. We are inquisitive, diverse, and dialogic institutions. By taking intentional action now, we can ensure that AI serves as a powerful tool to enhance learning, while preserving and amplifying the irreplaceable human elements at the heart of education.

Whether your school is preparing a schoolwide AI strategy or embracing a practical first step, the mission for educational leaders is clear: lead with purpose, adapt with agility, and prioritize the well-being and success of all students.

How is your school rising to the challenge? Let us know what’s working for you.

For more, see:

• Are We Ready for the Future? Navigating Change with Purpose

• Empowering Instructional Leaders: The Key to Driving Educational Change

• Designing for Educators as Learners: Belonging, Flexibility and Relevance

GOA is a nonprofit learning organization that reimagines learning to empower students and educators worldwide. In partnership with our global network of 150 schools, we provide interactive, relationship-driven courses, expert resources, and innovative thinking that help to expand and elevate academic programs. Together, we help students and educators become open to the extraordinary.

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