How Schools Are Blazing a Trail for AI in K–12

Also in 2022, GCPS opened Seckinger High School, which incorporates AI throughout the curriculum and offers an AI career and technical education pathway for students who want to learn more. Three elementary schools and a middle school that feed into Seckinger have also adopted AI learning and follow the district’s AI Learning Framework, which provides grade-level guidance on integrating AI into learning standards. 

In total, the district has 142 schools serving more than 182,000 students, which leaves plenty of room to build on these early efforts. One promising outcome so far, Holloway says, is that Seckinger students are more engaged in their classwork because its real-world relevance is clear. 

Watkins agrees. “This starts with our students and making sure they are prepared for postsecondary education and for the changes we already see happening in the workforce,” she says. “We’re leaning into those critical thinking and problem-solving skills, all of the things we want students to have when they leave us, and it’s exciting that AI can support that.”

Nancy Amato, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is working on bridging the gap between high school and college with a pilot program that would bring AI-enhanced computer science instruction to secondary students across Illinois. It’s based on a large, entry-level class that her university offers to incoming first-year students, with lessons and exercises that adapt to keep pace with student progress. 

“Even though we have these huge numbers of students, we can do this because we are engaging AI to personalize instruction,” Amato says. “Those are the kinds of things we need to develop and make available to our K–12 teachers too, because they have the same issues.”

DISCOVER: Bridge creativity and artificial intelligence in K–12 education.

K–12 Schools Look Beyond Technical Skills To Build Proficiency

At Wichita Public Schools (WPS) in Kansas, Digital Literacy Coordinator Dyane Smokorowski says CIO Robert Dickson recognized ChatGPT’s potential immediately. In 2022, he tasked Smokorowski with leading a team to study AI as an essential skill for students and a way to facilitate project-based learning and inclusive learning for various languages, reading levels and accessibility needs.

“This is what we’ve been trying to have happen in education for decades, and educational technologies have finally caught up, so it’s now an easier interface for us to do this work,” Smokorowski says.

WPS serves nearly 47,000 students in 88 schools. Its teachers, administrators and staffers have access to Microsoft Copilot, either the enterprise version available in Microsoft 365 or the free version accessible through Microsoft Edge. WPS also has trained administrative staff to use tools such as Canva Magic Media to enhance clerical tasks.

“It has to be a holistic approach,” says Katelyn Schoenhofer, WPS’ first AI specialist. “We started with administrators, then teachers, and then we will move to students. Make sure you’re planning with that in mind and with that goal of supporting every person within the system.”

In Georgia, GCPS launched a robust teacher training program, level-setting to build background knowledge, partnering with teachers to create AI-based lessons and training school-based leaders to provide ongoing support.

DIVE DEEPER: Holloway shares how her district paved the way for artificial intelligence in classrooms.

The team also recognized that from a curricular perspective, technical proficiency is only part of what they want students to learn. 

“The most important parts are those human-only skills, like ethics, creative problem-solving and design thinking,” Holloway says.

Amato agrees: “There’s bringing everyone up to speed so they’re able to engage in the use and development of AI, but we also need AI literacy for everyone so they understand the systems they’re interacting with.”

In Wichita, 12 middle schools participate in Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, which provides educational technology coaches to help to train teachers. In fall of 2024, Smokorowski’s team began training administrators on Microsoft 365’s AI tools, while Schoenhofer has led AI-focused professional development with instructional coaches who share their learnings with instructional teams at high schools and middle schools.

“It’s a ‘train the trainer’ situation that allows them to go back into their buildings and do professional development that is relevant to their staffs,” Schoenhofer says.

Laying the Foundation for Advanced AI Use

Looking forward, WPS plans to leverage Copilot and Azure to develop data-driven insights that not only inform ongoing improvements but also guide strategic actions and decisions based on the data. “That is a more complicated process, and it takes a lot more understanding of the AI systems, so that is still in the works,” Schoenhofer says. “We’re laying that foundation so that as we build those AI digital literacy skills, then we can move into data analytics.”

At GCPS, AI tools approved for use by the data privacy department include Microsoft Copilot, MagicSchool, Diffit and Curipod; other tools are under review. As part of a pilot site, Seckinger’s students may use other vetted tools with teacher supervision and parent permission, Holloway says.

RELATED: Data governance policies are a must for schools. 

While the tools are important, they shouldn’t drive AI adoption, Watkins says. 

“Start with the larger picture and ask what problems we are trying to solve. How do you see AI helping you in your work, with productivity or in your classroom, differentiating instruction? What is your ultimate goal? Then, look to see how those approved tools can help with that,” Watkins advises.

In 2024, GCPS released an updated AI policy and guidelines for responsible, ethical use of AI. Currently, the district is crafting a plan to expand its AI learning framework, gleaning lessons from the Seckinger pilot to inform districtwide implementation.

“We’re thinking about what it looks like to truly transform instruction through this framework and how we scale and support that for all 142 schools,” Holloway says.