Jay Neuman

This is part 12 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. AI adoption succeeds or fails in a school based on the people using it. Teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, counselors, and district teams turn AI from a concept into effective impact. Technology alone cannot do that. Professional learning is what makes AI meaningful, safe, and sustainable. At the same time, AI is increasingly becoming part of professional learning itself. Teachers use AI to generate examples, rehearse tasks, and learn collaboratively through shared prompting and reflection. Let’s explore how educators are learning about AI and learning with AI at the same time. A – What It

This is part 10 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. After-school and expanded learning programs are where students receive the time, guidance, and enrichment they often cannot access during the regular school day. These programs provide homework help, tutoring, STEM clubs, arts, recreation, digital media, mentoring, and safe spaces for students to grow. Yet they are often understaffed and stretched thin, with high student-to-adult ratios and limited funding. AI is offering practical support in these flexible, hands-on environments. When used in expanded learning programs, AI can help students receive targeted academic support, explore creative interests, and pursue personalized learning pathways. For staff, AI

This is part 9 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. School operations are the backbone of a functioning campus. Attendance specialists, front-office teams, administrators, communications staff, and district office personnel perform hundreds of tasks that keep schools running. Much of this work is essential but time-consuming. AI is emerging as a practical support for these teams. When used responsibly, AI drafts communications, summarizes dense documents, flags attendance patterns early, powers multilingual family chatbots, and reduces clerical overload. It does not replace the human expertise at the heart of school operations. it removes friction so staff can focus on people, relationships, and problem-solving. Let’s

This is part 8 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Classroom AI assistants are tools students and teachers use during learning to explore ideas, test reasoning, revise thinking, and take creative risks during classroom instruction. Unlike tutoring or assessment systems, these AI assistants function as “co-pilots” for the teacher. They help students brainstorm, compare explanations, generate scenarios, or analyze alternative viewpoints. AI assistants increase engagement, personalize instruction in real time, and help students think more critically. Used effectively, these tools make classrooms feel more interactive, more exploratory, and more inclusive. Let’s explore what classroom AI assistants are, why they matter, and how educators

This is part 7 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Special education is one of the most demanding and high-stakes areas in education. Teachers juggle instruction, accommodations, IEP meetings, documentation, collaboration, and communication with families while supporting students with diverse learning needs. The strain is real, and research shows it contributes to high burnout and turnover. AI is beginning to ease parts of that load. When used responsibly, it can help draft IEP elements, adapt materials, translate communication, and make learning more accessible. It gives teachers more time with students. It gives students more ways to participate in meaningful learning. Let’s explore how

As our schools become increasingly reliant on digital tools—from Chromebooks and online gradebooks to smartboards and cloud-based learning platforms—there’s an often-overlooked lesson we all need to learn: cybersecurity. In 2024 alone, more than 1,600 K–12 schools across the U.S. were targeted by ransomware, phishing attacks, or data breaches. These incidents are not just IT problems—they’re learning disruptions, privacy concerns, and community trust issues. Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, parent, or student, cybersecurity is now part of the educational ecosystem. And just like we teach reading, writing, and digital literacy, we must also build a shared understanding of how to protect our digital schools. Here’s a practical guide to understanding what cybersecurity really means in a school setting—and how we can work together to build

This is part 6 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Teachers have always known that the value of assessment lies not in the score, but in the insight it provides. Assessments show where students are, where they are headed, and what support they may need. Yet the process is slow. Administering, scoring, and analyzing results takes time. By the time feedback reaches the classroom, the learning moment may have already passed. AI is transforming that timeline. From instant scoring of fluency passages to real-time writing feedback, AI is giving teachers immediate insight into student performance and progress. More importantly, it is making assessment

This is part 5 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Schools work hard to keep students from slipping through the cracks. In MTSS meetings, educators review attendance patterns, grades, behavior notes, reading data, and survey responses. The hope is to spot the signs that a student may be struggling. But these signals often sit scattered across different systems, making early detection difficult even for experienced teams. AI is beginning to change that. New early-warning and MTSS-aligned tools can analyze large amounts of academic, attendance, behavioral, and social-emotional data in seconds. They surface patterns that would otherwise be hard to see, giving educators a

This is part 4 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. If there is one truth every leader knows, it is this: decisions are only as good as the information behind them. For years, districts have invested in data systems, assessment platforms, dashboards, student information systems, climate surveys, MTSS trackers, and more. The challenge has never been a lack of data. The challenge is making sense of it all in a way that is timely, clear, and actionable. AI is changing that. Districts are beginning to move from traditional spreadsheets and delayed reports to systems that analyze multiple data sources simultaneously, surface patterns leaders

Winter looks different everywhere. Some places are snowy, others are warm and bright, some are rainy and cloudy, and some barely change at all. These creative AI guided activities work in any climate and are perfect for winter break, after school programs, or the start of a new semester. For each activity, AI should continue asking questions until it has enough detail to complete what you want. If you say stop, AI should ask if you want to keep adding details or if you are ready for the final result. 1. Build Your Own Winter World Winter can look like icy mountains, sunny beaches, desert nights, quiet rain, or an enchanted snow forest. A winter world is a place shaped by your imagination. It can

The New Year gives us a chance to reflect, reset, and imagine who we want to become. These AI creative tasks help you look forward with purpose and curiosity. Use them at home, in class, or during the first week back from break. 1. Reflection on Who You Were This Year Looking back helps us understand how much we have grown. PurposeCreate a short personal reflection about the past year. Make it meaningful by focusing on specific memories or moments that shaped you. InstructionsAsk AI to help you reflect through guided questions, then turn your answers into a reflection. You can choose whether the tone is heartfelt, humorous, poetic, or simple. Have a back-and-forth conversation with the AI until you get it just the way

Winter celebrations from many cultures share common lessons for how we live our lives together. Here are five fun AI assisted activities that explore those ideas in personal, creative ways. Enjoy them during the holidays with family, friends, or classmates. 1. Light Overcoming Darkness Hope and brightness can grow even when things feel difficult or cold. PurposeWrite a story where light, physical or symbolic, changes a situation for the better. Personalize it by choosing a tone or genre you enjoy such as mystery, science fiction, gentle fantasy, adventure, etc., so the story feels uniquely yours. InstructionsAsk AI to write a short winter story where something bright brings hope. Personalize it by choosing a genre, mood, or setting you like. For example: quiet snowfall, city streets

This is part 3 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. For teachers, the day never has enough hours. Planning lessons, preparing materials, communicating with families, grading, and documenting student supports often spill far beyond the school day. The workload has grown for years, stretching educators thin even before they step in front of students. AI is beginning to shift that reality. Schools are using new tools to help with planning, communication, and the routine preparation that once consumed so much energy. This can allow teachers to focus more deeply on instruction and student relationships. Let’s explore how AI is reducing teacher workload, why

This is part 2 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Unfinished learning remains one of the biggest challenges in K–12 education. Teachers see it daily. Students struggle with foundational skills, read below grade level, or stall when a task requires multiple steps. Tutoring has always been one of the most effective ways to help, but finding enough trained tutors to support entire districts is a constant obstacle. AI tutoring is beginning to change what schools can offer. These tools extend teacher capacity by supporting students in the space between whole-class instruction and limited one-on-one help. They give instant explanations, walk students through complex

This is part 1 in a 12-part series on How Primary and Secondary Schools Use AI. The goal is to provide educators with a roadmap for planning AI usage in their schools. Personalized learning has long been a dream of teachers. Still, most classrooms are a mosaic of needs. There are advanced students, students who need reteaching, multilingual learners, students with IEPs, students who finish quickly, and students who require more time. There is only so much a teacher can do. AI is changing that. Teachers can now access tools that adapt content to each learner, generate multiple versions of materials, and give real-time insights into student strengths and gaps. Personalized learning with AI empowers teacher to meet needs they’ve always seen but never had

AI in K–12 education has become as integral as WiFi. It is in classrooms, offices, after-school programs, and school operations. Used well, AI helps teachers personalize learning, gives leaders better data for decisions, lightens the administrative load, and opens new opportunities for students during and beyond the school day. Here are the Top 12 most important ways schools and districts are using AI today. You can think of this as a menu. You don’t have to adopt every item at once. Instead, pick the few that match your school or district’s most pressing needs and build from there. 1. Personalized Learning and Differentiated Instruction What it is AI tools help teachers tailor learning to each student instead of giving everyone the same assignment. These platforms

Teachers all want to meet their students where they are. But between lesson planning, grading, parent communication, and school meetings, who has time to dig through spreadsheets to find the patterns that matter? That’s where AI and prompt engineering come in. With just a few clicks and the right words you can upload a spreadsheet of student data and ask an AI tool to help you identify trends, group students, and even write individualized instruction plans. You don’t need to write code, build formulas, or be a data expert. You just need to know how to talk to AI in the right way. Let’s explore how prompt engineering is becoming an everyday tool for teachers to make sense of data and personalize learning for every

For K–12 educators looking to save time, personalize instruction, and better support students, AI tools like ChatGPT can be powerful allies. The key? Knowing how to ask. That’s where prompt engineering comes in. Below are 10 ready-to-use prompts designed to meet real classroom needs—from creating individualized learning plans to generating parent-friendly progress updates. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, instructional coach, or school leader, these prompts will help you turn your student data, lesson plans, and daily decisions into actionable insights, with just a few clicks. Copy, paste, and adapt to fit your students. These are AI prompts teachers can use and love. 1. Create a Tiered Grouping Plan Based on Assessment Data Prompt: “I’ve uploaded a CSV file with my students’ recent math scores. Please

School data is everywhere: attendance logs, benchmark scores, family surveys, classroom walkthroughs. But for most educators, there’s a big gap between having the data and actually using it to make smart decisions. What if you could just ask, “Which students have missed more than 10 days this year, and what’s the trend by grade level?” and an AI tool immediately wrote the SQL query, pulled the results, and even explained what they meant in plain language? Thanks to new advances in AI and a skill called prompt engineering, that future is already here. It is especially powerful in education. In this article, we’ll explore how educators can use AI to access their school or district’s SQL database, ask meaningful questions, analyze results, and even generate

As our schools become increasingly reliant on digital tools, from Chromebooks and online gradebooks to smartboards and cloud-based learning platforms, there is an often-overlooked lesson we all need to learn: cybersecurity. In 2024 alone, more than 1,600 K–12 schools across the U.S. were targeted by ransomware, phishing attacks, or data breaches. These incidents are not just IT problems, They are learning disruptions, privacy concerns, and community trust issues. Whether you’re a teacher, school leader, parent, or student, cybersecurity is now part of the educational ecosystem. And just like we teach reading, writing, and digital literacy, we must also build a shared understanding of how to protect our digital schools. Here’s a practical guide to understanding what cybersecurity really means in a school setting and how

Cybersecurity threats are rising in K–12 schools. No organization is too small to be targeted. Whether you’re a single-site charter or a large school district, protecting student and staff data is critical. This easy-to-use cybersecurity checklist is designed specifically for schools. It covers everything you need to review across 10 key areas – from staff training to ransomware protection. You don’t need to be a tech expert to use it. Just follow the checklist and use it to guide your next audit, planning meeting, or board update. Simple. Actionable. Built for schools of all sizes. Use this checklist to audit and strengthen your organization’s cybersecurity posture.Complete each section at least once per semester and follow up with your IT team or vendor to address any

AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are transforming how educators work – making it easier to analyze student data, draft reports, or personalize learning. But to get the most out of these tools, you need to know how to talk to them well. That is where the RCRC Method comes in. This is my simple variation on the basic prompt structure you will learn in most beginner AI classes. The simple four-part structure helps anyone, teacher, principal, central office staff, and students, craft clear and effective prompts that guide the AI to deliver useful, relevant, and accurate responses. What Is the RCRC Method? The RCRC Method breaks a prompt into four key parts: Think of it like giving directions to a very smart intern.

In 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic buzzword in K-12 education, it’s a practical, everyday tool that’s transforming how schools support students and run their operations. From personalized learning to smarter resource management, AI is helping schools reach new heights in both student success and operational excellence. Here’s a look at the key trends, what leaders are doing, best practices, and real-world examples of success in 2025. Key Trends: AI’s Expanding Role in Schools AI’s influence in education is growing rapidly and reshaping classrooms in several ways: What the Leaders Are Doing: State-of-the-Art Solutions Districts at the forefront of AI adoption are taking a thoughtful and strategic approach. They’re not just buying the latest tools. They are building systems that ensure AI

Cybersecurity is now part of the educational ecosystem. Just like digital literacy, we must also build a shared understanding of how to protect our digital schools. Our schools are becoming increasingly reliant on digital tools, from Chromebooks and online gradebooks to smartboards and cloud-based learning platforms. In 2024 alone, more than 1,600 K–12 schools across the U.S. were targeted by ransomware, phishing attacks, or data breaches. These incidents are not just IT problems. They are learning disruptions, privacy concerns, and community trust issues. Here is a practical guide to understanding what cybersecurity really means in a school setting and how everyone in the school can work together to build safe and resilient learning environments. 1. Building the Foundation: Policy, Training, and Culture The first step

Data is everywhere in schools today. We track test scores, attendance, behavior incidents, reading levels, and survey responses. We have dashboards, spreadsheets, and reports. But here is the reality: data does not lead to better decisions. People do. People need stories not just stats. That’s why some of the most effective school leaders today aren’t just data-literate. They are data storytellers. They know how to take a few key numbers, frame them with context, and connect them to action. Whether you’re a principal sharing school progress with staff, a district leader presenting to your board, or a teacher leading a PLC, learning to tell stories with data can turn your work from informative to transformational. Why Storytelling with Data Matters in Schools Let’s start with