Alludo Blog

AI in Schools: Why School Boards Need to Get on Board

Written by Damon Torgerson | Feb 10, 2024 3:00:00 PM

 

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a topic that demands our attention. Dr. Mike Swize, a retired superintendent from the Palm Springs Unified School District, shares invaluable insights into the pivotal role school boards play in embracing AI for the benefit of our students.

In this thought-provoking blog post, Dr. Swize emphasizes the significance of early and transparent communication with school board members about AI implementation. He provides a practical guide, including resources from the US Department of Education, to facilitate this crucial dialogue.

Furthermore, Dr. Swize connects the dots between AI and the shared vision of achieving high student achievement and fostering a socially and emotionally equitable learning environment. By aligning AI initiatives with this vision, educational leaders can navigate the transformative potential of AI in schools more seamlessly.

Join us in exploring Dr. Swize's wisdom and practical tips for embracing the future of education through AI. Discover how open communication and a clear vision can pave the way for truly transformational change in our school districts.

Read the full transcript and embark on the journey to unlock the extraordinary potential of AI in education. Your students and your community will thank you for it.

Transcript

I've been talking the last few weeks about the incredible potential of artificial intelligence in the public k twelve sector.

One thing I haven't talked about, though, is the important role of a school board in the implementation of artificial intelligence in a school district As a former superintendent, from a large Southern California school district, I cannot emphasize enough. How important it is for educational leaders to make sure that their publicly elected school board members are on board with the implementation of artificial intelligence.

This is a topic that is all over the news and in fact could cause some concern of school board members. They might be worried about student data. They might be worried about big brother looking at our students.

And those are serious concerns that we wanna take into account as we develop a district implementation of artificial intelligence.

First and foremost, I wanna encourage all of my leaks to make sure that you're communicating with your board members early and often.

There are some excellent documents, some produced by the US department of edge that are perfect to share in a weekly communication with your school board.

Because believe me, your board members are hearing about artificial intelligence. So you wanna make sure that they're hearing it from you as soon as possible. So that's my first it. Make sure that you communicate early and often with your school board about the potential of artificial intelligence. And also some of the risks, make sure that you share those with them as well.

The second tip I wanna leave you with is to make sure that you assure your board member that any implementation of artificial intelligence is to further your shared vision of high student achievement and a powerfully strong, social, emotional, equitable learning environment for all students.

If we can help our board members see that those things are connected, it will make the implementation of AI go much smoother in your school district. So number one, communicate early and often. And number two, make sure that you connect it clearly to the shared vision that you've already developed with your school board. Those two tips, I think, will help smooth the way for what can be transformational in our school districts.