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The sudden arrival of generative AI is driving a significant shift in thinking and approach across industries, including education. For transformational change to occur, educators need tangible examples of how AI can meaningfully enhance their practice and student learning. We want to help.

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Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator are partnering to pilot The School Teams AI Collaborative.

The School Teams AI Collaborative from Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator is a year-long pilot initiative focused on equipping school-based teams to be at the forefront of developing AI-enabled instructional best practices that expand possibilities for teaching and learning amid society’s next era of digital transformation.

Many educators are already using AI to improve processes such as lesson planning and grading. These use cases, often deployed at the individual level, have the potential to save time, but there is potential for AI to offer even more value in instruction.

For school systems to effectively bridge this societal digital transformation, there needs to be a greater focus on translating these ad hoc approaches into coherent and scalable system strategies.

The Collaborative seeks to identify best practices for using AI in the classroom that align school leadership, instructional strategy, and educator practice to accelerate instructional improvement and yield better student outcomes. We aim to foster an instructional ecosystem where school leaders and teachers work together to align support, structures, and resources for the responsible and effective use of AI.

Meet the Schools

9 cities

19 schools

80+ participants

  • Appleton, WI: Valley New School (Appleton Area School District)
  • Avondale, AZ: Desert Edge High School (Agua Fria Union High School District)
  • Boston, MA: Eliot Innovation School (Boston Public Schools)
  • Denver, CO: Aurora Science & Tech High School (DSST Public Schools), Denver Online High School (Denver Public Schools), DSST College View High School (DSST Public Schools), DSST Cedar High School  (DSST Public Schools), Northeast Early College (Denver Public Schools), South High School (Denver Public Schools)
  • Lynwood, CA: Cesar Chavez Middle School (Lynwood Unified School District), Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School (Lynwood Unified School District), Hosler Middle School (Lynwood Unified School District), Lynwood High School (Lynwood Unified School District)
  • New York City, NY: Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School (New York City Public Schools), United Charter High School (New York City Public Schools)
  • Ulster, NY: Ulster BOCES
  • Washington, DC: Hart Middle School (DC Public Schools), Washington Leadership Academy PCS
  • Wolfeboro, NH: Kingswood Regional High School (Governor Wentworth Regional School District)

About the Collaborative

Working side by side, teachers and school leaders will identify the support needed to foster a learning environment where educators can confidently explore new ideas, learn from successes and failures, and refine practices quickly.

  • Together, pilot participants will shape an educator community that leads to the creation of a resource hub for sharing emerging trends, best practices, and insights with educators nationwide.
  • They will also have access to ongoing support, guidance, and feedback from experts in the field and other cohort members.
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Activities & Experience

Participants will gather for facilitated learning, reflection, and goal-setting.

  • Connect with other educators who are on similar AI journeys
  • Build a supportive network for ongoing collaboration and support
  • Receive personalized guidance and feedback from experienced coaches
  • Develop and refine AI-integrated instructional practices with support

Share experiences, challenges, and successes to foster collective growth

  • Gain insights from leading experts at the intersection of AI and education
  • Stay informed about the latest developments and best practices in AI-enhanced instruction
  • Contribute to the creation and development of practical resources for doing more, doing better, and doing new through AI-enhanced practice
  • Share your expertise and resources, benefiting educators across the country
  • Help shape the future of AI-integrated education through collaborative design

 

About the Partners

Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator are partnering to leverage their complementary skills and experience to co-create The School Teams AI Collaborative.

Leading Educators

Leading Educators, a nonprofit that partners with school systems and states to nurture excellence in every classroom, brings expertise in professional learning and coherent instructional improvement, as well as a proven track record of elevating teacher effectiveness and student outcomes through targeted, research-based, and collaborative learning models.

Last year, LE released the Value Add of Technology on Teaching (VATT) framework, a tool designed alongside Google for Education and educators worldwide to explore how the intentional use of technology can expand instructional possibilities.

The Learning Accelerator

As a national nonprofit building field-level capability to transform K-12 education, The Learning Accelerator (TLA) harnesses the potential of innovation and improvement efforts to drive real change and impact for youth nationwide, generating open evidence, resources, networks, and tools while fostering greater connectivity across efforts and actions.

To help school and system leaders achieve their vision of student-centered design, TLA developed the Innovative Learning Implementation Framework, which identifies key conditions educators need to successfully implement new teaching and learning practices.

Connect with Us

 

Applications are currently closed for the 2024-2025 school year, but we welcome any questions or other ways you want to stay connected.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What will the Pilot participants experience?
  • As the pilot cohort, you will be a trailblazer in implementing AI-enabled strategies that deepen student learning. Here’s what fellows will experience:
    • An all-cohort convening in September or October 2024 that brings the cohort together to facilitate collaboration and deep learning around AI
    • Two 90-minute virtual sessions to deepen cohort practices through activities that could include best practice sharing and discussion on common challenges
    • Two 4-hour virtual convenings at the midpoint and end of the cohort to share progress and deepen practice 
    • Three or four 60-minute coaching sessions with each team
    • Access to experts from Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator
    • Exclusive access to leaders in the AI and education sector
What is the role of the instructional lead?
  • Instructional leads serve as the main point of contact with the cohort organizers. They also support participating teams as they implement AI-enabled strategies and activities into their instruction and ensure these are aligned to the school’s mission.
  • Instructional leads should have some level of decision-making authority around instruction in the school building. We recommend the principal or an assistant principal.
  • Instructional leads will also participate in a 45-minute onboarding session in July and participate in all in-person and virtual convenings.
How will the cohort’s learning be shared with the sector?

This project is intended to advance understanding of emerging AI-supported instructional practice.

As such, it is expected that teams will work with an open learning orientation, surfacing lessons and takeaways to support broader sector improvement.

  • Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator will collect artifacts from fellows and synthesize strategies and learnings from the cohort to share with the sector.
  • The format will be determined based on the learnings of the cohort.
By combining Leading Educators' deep understanding of effective pedagogy and The Learning Accelerator's expertise in identifying and helping leaders scale innovations, the partnership will ensure that AI practices are implemented with strong pedagogical foundations and can be adapted to diverse educational contexts.