On October 30, 2025, about 18 months after our first retreat about AI implications for K-12 education, over 60 representatives of Consortium districts again came together for a 3-hour in-person event to further discuss implications of AI for their schools, but this time focusing on how AI may provide the catalyst, as well as new solutions, to address long-standing problems in K-12 education. Six key themes were discussed in small groups, preceded by brief presentations framing each of the themes. To share key lessons learned in this event, after the video-recording of the introduction and framing of the event, for each of these themes we are reporting the brief description and framing questions that informed the group discussion, a video-recording of its “framing” presentation and a video-recording of the highlights of the group discussion shared by the facilitator at the end of the event.
Themes addressed:
- Making instruction more effective and engaging
- Addressing assessment challenges
- Addressing K-12 educators’ burnout/turnover
- Promoting AI literacy (along with the implementation of the new Computer Science standards)
- Ensuring cybersecurity, safety and privacy
- Supporting socio-emotional learning and students with special needs
Introduction and Framing for the Event – Raffaella Borasi (04:26)
Themes Addressed:
1. Making instruction more effective and engaging
Keeping students motivated and ensuring their deep learning is a continuous challenge K-12 teachers face, and one that has been exacerbated overtime given the many more distraction young people have in their life.
Framing questions:
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to making instruction more effective and engaging we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges that AI may present for making instruction more effective and engaging? How could some of these challenges be addressed?
2. Addressing assessment challenges
We know that our current assessment system is unsatisfactory, as it fails to measure the learning that may be most important and it is not necessarily “fair” across student groups – not to mention concerns about cheating that long predate ChatGPT!
Framing questions
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to assessment we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges that AI may present for assessment? How could some of these challenges be addressed?
3. Addressing K-12 educators’ burnout/turnover
The increasing turnover in K-12 educators’ positions over the past few years has raised concerns about K-12 educators’ burnout and well-being – especially given that many K-12 teachers feel they do not have the time needed to attend to their students and their core instructional duties.
Framing questions
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to addressing K-12 educators’ burnout/turnover we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges that AI may present for addressing K-12 educators’ burnout/turnover? How could some of these challenges be addressed?
4. Promoting AI literacy (along with the implementation of the new Computer Science standards)
Schools in New York State have been grappling with the new demands imposed by the expectation of implementing the 2020 Computer Science and Digital Fluency standards in an already over-crowded curriculum – and these standards were written a few years before the launch of ChatGPT! How can schools meet the new need to promote sufficient AI literacy for all students so that they will be able to use AI effectively, safely and ethically in their future jobs as well as everyday life, along with the existing standards?
Framing questions
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to implementing the new Computer Science standards we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges presented by promoting AI literacy more specifically? How could some of these challenges be addressed?
5. Ensuring cybersecurity, safety and privacy
Given the new opportunities that technological advances present for hackers and malign users, schools have been increasingly concerned about ensuring cybersecurity, safety and privacy for their students and staff. The use of AI tools in K-12 schools is presenting new questions and challenges with respect to ensuring the privacy of protected data and the school’s safety from cyber attacks in particular.
Framing questions
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to ensuring cybersecurity, safety and privacy we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges that AI may present for ensuring cybersecurity, safety and privacy? How could some of these challenges be addressed?
6. Supporting socio-emotional learning and students with special needs
Meeting with needs of students with disabilities and English Language Learners in K-12 education has been a long-standing challenge, and supporting socio-emotional learning has become an even greater priority as a result of the pandemic.
Framing questions
- What are some long-term challenges with respect to supporting socio-emotional learning and students with special needs we may hope to address with the help of AI?
- How could AI be used to address some of these specific challenges? What would be potential benefits and risks of each of these AI uses?
- What are some new challenges that AI may present for supporting socio-emotional learning and students with special needs? How could some of these challenges be addressed?