Educators across the country now have access to a new suite of AI literacy courses co-designed by the Friday Institute for Education Innovation and other educational leaders to help educators thoughtfully and responsibly integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching and learning. The initiative introduces three courses designed for different levels of educational leadership – The AI Empowered Teacher, The AI Empowered School Leader and The AI Empowered District Leader.
Principal investigator Emma Braaten led development of the courses with co-principal investigators Amy Walter and Becky Evans‑Wilson, working with state education agency partners on K-12 AI integration.
The work emerged from a multi-state initiative organized through the Council of Chief State School Officers and funded by the Ballmer Foundation. The effort brought together education leaders from North Carolina, New Mexico, Kentucky and Wyoming to develop practical guidance and training around artificial intelligence in schools.
Beginning the week of April 13, the Friday Institute will launch the first course in the series, The AI Empowered Teacher, offered through the PLACE:360 (Pathways for Learning, Access, Connection & Engagement) platform. Courses designed for school leaders and district leaders will follow.
The courses avoid tool demonstrations and instead focus on thoughtfully integrating AI into teaching, learning and school decision-making, Braaten explained.
“The first module, “Step In, Stay Human,” grounds participants in their own beliefs and values as educators,” says Braaten, director of digital learning at the Friday Institute. “From there, the course builds understanding of how AI is reshaping both personal and professional spaces.”
Participants move through the course in cohorts. Discussion with peers focuses on real scenarios and policy questions related to AI in K-12 schools.
Across the project, the three course pathways address distinct leadership roles. Instructional staff focus on classroom practice and student learning. School leaders examine how principals create conditions for safe and innovative AI use. District leaders explore policy, infrastructure, professional learning and system-level change.
The collaboration addressed a growing concern among state leaders. Many school systems, especially in rural communities and small towns, lack resources to evaluate new AI technologies or train educators in responsible classroom use. By working together, the states developed shared materials designed to support educators across a wide range of school contexts.
Through the grant, state leaders and Friday Institute staff co-designed the course content and supporting resources. The group met every two weeks to review drafts, test ideas and refine the materials. Each of the states has developed AI guidance for educators, and this work helps actualize and operationalize AI integration with high-quality professional learning for their respective states.
“This project between the Friday Institute and leaders from each of the four states has been an amazing collaborative experience allowing us all to share, learn, grow and guide the courses’ development. The courses are human-centered and grounded in sound pedagogy and job-embedded application, allowing each user to apply their learning to their own context,” says Vera Cubero, emerging technologies consultant within the Office of Digital Learning and School Connectivity for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. “We are so excited to begin offering these courses to our North Carolina educators in a small pilot this summer, with plans to expand to all educators in the fall to help ensure that our educators are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to lead their learning communities and guide students in the Age of Intelligence.”
In addition to the courses, the project team is developing family engagement materials to help caregivers discuss AI with their children, along with a foundational guide for educators and communities beginning to explore AI policy and practice.
The work extends the Friday Institute’s research-to-practice portfolio focused on digital learning, educational innovation and emerging technologies in K-12 education.
“Every few years, education faces a new disruption. AI may be one of the biggest yet,” Braaten says. “Educators need space to step back, remember their core values and make intentional decisions about how and why they bring these tools into classrooms.”
