The data is in and the impact of ALP’s innovative partnership is clear. Over 400 K-12 district and school leaders in Virginia participated in ALP’s AI Professional Learning program, making significant gains in:
- Ability to critically evaluate outputs of Generative AI
- Confidence in using district resources to support implementation of AI
- Confidence in making decisions about AI implementation within their roles
- Using AI for content creation as well as thought partnership
The Virginia AI Initiative: A New Model for K-12 Professional Learning
Since 2010, ALP has joined forces with professional associations, government bodies, and educational institutions to foster large-scale change. With visionary support from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), ALP partnered with the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) to offer a four-day professional learning experience for over 400 district and school leaders from school divisions across the state. The goal: to build individual and collective literacy as well as practical and confident integration of Generative AI across education systems.
Over several months, participants developed the skills to evaluate, implement, and govern AI within learner-centered frameworks. Regional cohorts, guided by ALP consultants, drafted sustainable policies, guidelines, frameworks, and plans that made a lasting difference.
The structured professional learning focused on three key outcomes:
- Understanding Generative AI: Developing a clear foundation of AI concepts, its historical context, and societal impact.
- Evaluating AI’s Impact on Education: Exploring how AI influences learning, teaching, and systemic structures.
- Practical AI Applications: Engaging in hands-on applications, including prompt engineering and AI tool utilization to address district-specific challenges.
The following guiding questions shaped the discussions and strategy development:
- How should we use Generative AI in the most productive way across the school system?
- How do I use Generative AI in my professional practice? How are teachers using it today?
- What will the impact be on society, work, and education as we prepare learners for an AI-driven world?
- What is the right way to help my school district plan for AI integration?
How AI Training Boosted Leadership Confidence and Implementation Readiness
In July 2024, our team launched a stakeholder survey anchored in advanced research on leadership competencies. The goal of this survey was to document the impact of organizational change initiatives at scale. By late August, when our Gen AI executive consulting service started, our partners used a live dashboard to track changes in organizational capacity and readiness for Gen AI.
The following insights demonstrate the powerful outcomes of professional learning with 400 district leaders, school leaders, and classroom teachers over 8 months with about half of the school divisions in the state of Virginia participating.
Outcome 1: Building AI Literacy & Confidence in Critical Evaluation
The first survey questions addressed understanding AI’s potential in education and participants’ confidence in critically evaluating AI-generated responses.
Before engaging in ALP’s training, 96% of participants understood AI’s potential in education, but only 85% felt confident in critically evaluating AI-generated responses.
By the end of the training, critical evaluation confidence had surged to 96%. This shift underscores the necessity of not just understanding AI but also being able to assess and validate AI-generated information effectively.
? Implication for Decision-Makers: District AI training should go beyond basic AI literacy and focus on developing educators’ ability to critically evaluate AI-generated content.
Solution: Districts should integrate AI literacy into ongoing professional development programs, leveraging real-world scenarios to train educators on detecting bias, verifying AI-generated content, and making informed decisions. For example, districts could create AI evaluation toolkits with practical exercises that teachers and administrators can use regularly.
Outcome 2: Shift in Attitudes Toward AI, Balancing Optimism with Ethical Concerns
From Day 1 to Day 4, optimism about AI’s role in education remained steady at 96%, but concerns over student misuse of AI increased slightly (from 64% to 67%). This indicates that while educators are eager to integrate AI, they recognize the potential risks of students using AI as a shortcut in learning.
The most notable shift occurred in confidence in district resources: only 66% felt adequately supported on Day 1, but by Day 4, that number had jumped to 96%.
? Implication for Decision-Makers: To ensure effective AI implementation in schools, districts must establish clear principles, guidelines, and frameworks that foster ethical AI use while driving innovation.
Solution: Implement AI ethics committees composed of administrators, teachers, and students to collaboratively define acceptable AI use cases and establish guidelines. Additionally, professional development should include workshops on how AI can enhance, rather than replace, critical thinking and problem-solving in classrooms.
Outcome 3: A Dramatic Transformation, Readiness to Implement AI
One of the most striking outcomes of the training was the shift in decision-making readiness. At the start, only 34% of participants felt prepared to make decisions on AI implementation. By the end of the program, that number had skyrocketed to 88%. Similarly, readiness to develop AI policies grew from 30% to 86%, reflecting a newfound confidence in AI leadership.
? Implication for Decision-Makers: Now is the time for districts to formalize AI leadership roles. Now is the time to formalize professional learning for leaders at all levels to effectively navigate decisions about AI within their roles and responsibilities. These efforts must be guided by district-wide frameworks for ethical and safe use of AI.
Solution: Designate AI Champions in each school and within departments. Champions receive advanced AI training and act as liaisons between district leadership and educators. AI Champions can facilitate peer coaching, lead pilot initiatives, and support policy implementation to ensure district-wide coherence.
AI in Action: How Districts Are Using AI for Content Creation and Thought Leadership
In their professional learning experiences with ALP, participants moved beyond theoretical discussions and began actively exploring AI’s practical applications. The biggest increase in AI use was in content generation—rising from 60% to 75%—demonstrating AI’s value as a tool for instructional planning, assessment creation, and resource development. AI as a thought partner (from 42% to 63%) and personalized mentor (from 35% to 49%) also gained traction, indicating a growing interest in AI-assisted professional learning.
? Implication for Decision-Makers: Districts should move beyond AI training on tools to include best practices for content creation and encourage AI’s use as a collaborative tool in instructional planning.
Solution: Provide structured AI toolkits with lesson plan templates, assessment generators, and prompt engineering best practices. These toolkits should be paired with coaching for site leadership teams around how best to support educators in their application of these resources with purpose and impact. Schools can also create AI-driven collaboration hubs where teachers share AI-enhanced lesson designs and best practices for integration.
Challenges and Next Steps: Ensuring Sustainable AI Adoption in Schools
Despite widespread enthusiasm, participants identified key challenges, including concerns over AI misuse by students, the need for ongoing professional development, and a desire for more structured AI practice time.
Sustainable AI integration requires continuous professional learning.
District leaders need to intentionally structure professional learning time for educators and administration to discuss ongoing challenges and solutions of AI within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Additionally, districts can set up AI sandbox environments where a cross-section of district staff can experiment with emerging AI tools and model before full-scale implementation.
Final Thoughts: Seizing the AI Momentum
In just four days, a profound transformation occurred. Participants evolved their initial curiosity into confident AI leadership. The leap in decision-making readiness (from 34% to 88%) and resource confidence (from 66% to 96%) proves that structured AI training works. However, long-term success hinges on continued professional development, ethical AI policies, and a culture of collaboration.
Let’s continue fostering AI literacy, equipping educators, and designing policies that ensure responsible AI use. The future of AI in education is now—how will your district lead the way?
For downloadable resources related to communicating and evaluating AI use in education, explore best practices for AI professional learning in K-12 education.
Discover how ALP’s AI professional learning services help K-12 districts develop AI policies and leadership frameworks.
Want to prepare your district for AI adoption? Explore how ALP’s AI Professional Learning services can help your district build AI literacy, leadership confidence, and systemwide implementation strategies.
This story was coauthored by Brianna Lynn and Yumna Ahmed.
AI model ChatGPT was used to synthesize data insights and simplify original language. All aspects of this content were reviewed and revised by ALP subject matter experts and leaders.
