From Educator Input to Statewide Implementation

Following the success of Virginia’s statewide GenAI Year of Learning for district and school leaders, the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), Virtual Virginia, and Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP) launched AI Part II: Into the Classroom to help divisions move from leadership awareness to classroom implementation.

The initiative provides every Virginia school division with access to a comprehensive, asynchronous professional learning system that helps classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and support staff build the knowledge and confidence needed to integrate AI responsibly and effectively. The work combines high-quality online learning with local implementation support so that every division can adapt the experience to its own goals, priorities, and professional learning structures.

The Challenge

Virginia leaders consistently expressed a common need:

How do we move from a small group of AI-informed leaders to thousands of educators confidently using AI in ways that improve teaching and learning?

A statewide solution needed to:

reach educators across all 132 divisions
accommodate varying levels of AI readiness
support local implementation rather than mandate a single model
align with VDOE guidance and instructional priorities
remain sustainable as AI tools continue to evolve

The Partnership

The initiative leveraged the strengths of three organizations.

Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS)

statewide coordination
division engagement
long-term ownership of resources

Virtual Virginia

statewide learning management system
scalable course delivery
ongoing technical infrastructure

Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP)

instructional design
AI expertise
professional learning architecture
train-the-trainer facilitation
implementation resources

Together, the partners developed a model that combines scalable online learning with locally led implementation.

The Solution

The partnership created three complementary asynchronous courses organized into a progressive learning pathway.

Understanding AI in Education – foundational AI literacy, ethics, data privacy, and responsible use
Using AI to Support Teaching – instructional planning, differentiation and personalized learning, assessment, and classroom implementation
Using AI for Learning – curriculum, adopting AI tools, evidence of learning, and thoughtful student use of AI

Rather than prescribing a single professional learning model, every course was intentionally designed to support multiple implementation approaches. Each division also received facilitator guides, editable implementation materials, communication resources, multiple learning pathway options, and turnkey professional learning assets that can evolve over time.

A Collaborative Course Design Process

Rather than developing the courses in isolation, the partnership used an iterative design process that ensured the final product reflected the needs of Virginia educators and the expertise of education leaders across the Commonwealth.

Listening to the Field: The process began with a statewide sensing survey of Virginia educators and leaders to understand the knowledge and skills they wanted most. Respondents identified priority topics for beginner, intermediate, and advanced AI professional learning, helping establish both the three-course learning pathway and the content priorities for each course. Survey responses emphasized that student data privacy was the most important topic for teachers to learn about.

Designing the Learning Experience: Using the survey findings, Advanced Learning Partnerships (ALP) designed and developed the three-course learning pathway. Each course was intentionally structured to build educator competency through authentic classroom scenarios, interactive learning experiences, reflection activities, implementation resources, and practical applications that educators could immediately use in their schools. The courses were designed to be flexible enough for statewide implementation while allowing divisions to customize learning to their local context.

Expert Review by Virginia Educators: Before public release, more than 40 Virginia education leaders participated in a structured work group to review every module across all three courses. Participants represented diverse roles from across the Commonwealth and provided detailed feedback on:

instructional relevance
clarity and organization
educator usability
classroom applicability
opportunities for interaction
accessibility and visual design
alignment with Virginia priorities

This review process ensured the learning reflected the realities of Virginia classrooms rather than theoretical AI implementation.

Continuous Improvement Before Launch: Virtual Virginia conducted a comprehensive review of the courses for quality, usability, and statewide implementation. At the same time, ALP systematically responded to the work group’s recommendations by revising content, reducing unnecessary text, increasing interactive learning opportunities, enhancing visuals, improving navigation, and creating downloadable reference resources for educators. This collaborative review cycle resulted in polished, classroom-ready professional learning that was thoroughly vetted before becoming available to every Virginia school division.

The Content

The three AI Part II courses were developed using the ALP AI Competency Model for Teachers as a guiding framework. The model organizes educator practice across four connected domains:

Learning Experience Design
AI-Ready Classroom Culture
Student AI Interaction
Evidence of Learning

Together, these domains help educators move from basic exploration toward more intentional, context-dependent use of AI.

The courses translate these competencies into practical professional learning through classroom examples, interactive activities, reflection opportunities, and implementation tools. Across the three-course pathway, educators build their capacity to design with AI, establish responsible classroom practices, guide student use, and preserve meaningful evidence of learning. The following articles were adapted directly from course content. They represent only a small sample of the material included across the full learning pathway.

Featured Course Content

What Counts as Student Data? Rethinking Privacy in the Age of AI: As AI becomes more integrated into classrooms, educators need a deeper understanding of what constitutes student data and how privacy considerations extend beyond names and grades. This article explores common classroom scenarios and practical questions educators should consider before using AI tools.

The Impact of AI on Our World: AI is influencing education within the context of broader societal change. This article examines its impact on areas such as work, healthcare, creativity, communication, and civic life while helping educators consider the opportunities and responsibilities associated with those changes.

Understanding AI to Make it Work for Us: Developing AI literacy begins with understanding how AI systems function, where they are useful, and where human judgment remains essential. This article explains foundational concepts in accessible language and explores how educators can use AI to strengthen, rather than replace, professional expertise.

These articles offer only a glimpse of the course content. Across the full pathway, educators engage with practical guidance, classroom scenarios, interactive learning, and downloadable resources aligned to the ALP AI Competency Model for Teachers.

Building Local Capacity: Instead of relying on outside facilitators, the initiative emphasized building internal expertise through ten regional Train-the-Trainer sessions. Division teams learned how to:

access and modify the Canvas courses
customize implementation for local priorities
facilitate educator learning
select appropriate learning pathways

This approach allows the work to become part of each division’s existing professional learning system rather than a one-time training event.

Early Implementation Data

Following the regional Train-the-Trainer sessions, 141 Virginia school division leaders completed planning surveys describing how they intended to deploy the courses locally.

Course Adoption: Divisions indicated plans to use all three courses rather than selecting only introductory content.

Using AI to Support Teaching: 92%
Understanding AI in Education: 96%
Using AI for Learning: 86%

This suggests that divisions view AI implementation as a progression from foundational understanding to classroom practice and student learning rather than isolated professional development.

Flexible Professional Learning Models: One of the primary design goals was flexibility. Implementation plans demonstrate that divisions intend to use the courses in multiple ways depending on local needs. Planned implementation:

Many divisions selected multiple options, reinforcing that the courses are being integrated into existing professional learning systems rather than delivered as a single fixed experience.

What Division Leaders Hope to Achieve – Survey responses reveal several common themes.

Build teacher confidence: Leaders frequently described helping educators become more confident making instructional decisions about AI rather than simply learning new technology.

Improve responsible AI use: Many responses emphasized ethical, safe, and appropriate classroom implementation aligned with district expectations.

Prepare students: Division leaders consistently connected educator learning with student readiness by helping students:

think critically about AI
evaluate AI-generated information
use AI responsibly
prepare for postsecondary education and future careers

Strengthen local capacity: Many leaders described the courses as the foundation for broader district AI strategies, allowing schools to build sustainable internal expertise instead of depending on outside training.

Why This Model Works

Several design decisions distinguish AI Part II from traditional statewide professional learning.

Statewide consistency with local flexibility: Every division receives the same high-quality learning resources while maintaining local control over implementation.

Professional learning, not product training: The courses focus on educator decision-making, instructional design, ethics, and student learning instead of individual AI tools.

Sustainable implementation: By combining asynchronous learning with train-the-trainer support, divisions can continue using and adapting the resources long after the initial launch.

Partnership at scale: The collaboration demonstrates how state organizations, technical infrastructure providers, and professional learning experts can combine complementary strengths to create a scalable, sustainable statewide initiative.

Looking Ahead

AI Part II: Into the Classroom represents the next phase of Virginia’s AI journey. Building on leadership learning from the GenAI Year of Learning, the partnership extends AI capacity directly into classrooms through flexible, division-led implementation.

As divisions begin integrating the courses into onboarding, PLCs, professional learning days, coaching cycles, and district AI initiatives, the project establishes a sustainable model for scaling educator AI competency across the Commonwealth while preserving local decision-making and instructional integrity.

Interested in meeting and exceeding professional learning needs for teachers in your school, district, or state? Contact ALP to start a conversation.

Read our related three-part blog series exploring featured content from this statewide professional learning partnership: What Counts as Student Data? Rethinking Privacy in the Age of AI, The Impact of AI on Our World, and Understanding AI to Make it Work for Us.