Integrating AI in K-12 Leadership: Strategies for Admins and Educators, Aigner, Summer 2026

Course Description

This asynchronous, 6-week course provides K-12 educators, school leaders and school administrators with the foundational knowledge and practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational leadership. Using ISTE’s AI for School Leaders, participants will explore ethical considerations, data-driven decision-making, AI tools for instructional support, and strategies for implementing AI-driven initiatives in schools. Through discussions, reflections, and hands-on activities using Canvas, participants will gain confidence in leveraging AI to enhance teaching, learning, and administrative effectiveness.

Audience: This course is designed for K-12 educators, school administrators, technologist, instructional coaches, and district leaders interested in understanding and implementing AI in educational settings, with a Bachelor's Degree

Course Goals & Objectives:

 Course Goals: By the end of the course, participants will:

• Understand the role of AI in modern K-12 education leadership.
• Analyze ethical considerations and best practices for AI integration in schools.
• Explore AI tools that support a wide variety of leadership and educational tasks such as personalized learning, differentiated learning, UDL, time savings, communication and much more.
• Develop strategies to implement AI-driven initiatives in educational settings.
• Engage in professional discussions to reflect on the impact of AI in education.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain key AI concepts and their relevance in K-12 education.
• Identify ethical challenges associated with AI adoption in schools.
• Evaluate and select AI tools for instructional and administrative use.
• Develop a plan to integrate AI-driven solutions in their school or district.
• Apply AI principles to enhance student learning, assessment, and engagement.

Instructor

Patricia Aigner, M.Ed., serves as a Vermont Technology Director and is licensed as a teacher, principal, and superintendent; she was honored with the Vita-Learn Frank Watson Lifetime Achievement Tech Award in 2020, ISTE GM AI Scholarship, and ISTE Member of the Month. She is the recipient of the ISTE 20 to Watch Award in 2022.
Her roles include being the past president of Vermont's ISTE affiliate and a longtime board member of VT ASCD. For over 20 years, she's presented at ISTE Vermont affiliate conferences and has presented at ISTE as recently as 2024. She teaches about technology through the Vermont State College System; she was part of the 2021-2022 AASA Howard University Urban Superintendent Cohort. Patricia is an ISTE Certified Educator who volunteers as an ISTE Community Leader, furthering her commitment to educational technology.

Required Resources:

Cost for required resources, if any, are not included in the course cost.

Echols, Vickie F. (2024). AI for School Leaders: 62 Ways to Lighten Your Workload and Focus on What Matters. ITSE.

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Echols, V. F. (2025). From paperwork to people: Reclaiming the school leader’s day with AI. ISTE Blog. https://www.iste.org/explore/AI-productivity-school-leaders

Fisher, N. L. (2024, November). The superintendent’s AI roadmap: Balancing efficiency and ethics. School Administrator, 81(10), 18–23. https://www.aasa.org/resources/publications/school-administrator

Frontier, T. (2025, February). Beyond the prompt: AI as a partner in instructional leadership. Educational Leadership, 82(5), 12–17. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/ai-as-a-partner-instructional-leadership

Makhani, N. (2025, November). Data-informed, not data-overwhelmed: Using AI for school improvement. Educational Leadership, 83(3), 34–39. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/ai-powered-data-analysis

Zenge, J. (2025, December 19). Operationalizing AI: Solving problems of practice for district leaders. AASA Blog. https://www.aasa.org/resources/blog/operationalizing-ai-district-leaders

Course Schedule:

Synchronous Meeting June 13th

Course Introduction, Overview of Syllabus, Walk Through of Assignments, etc.

June 13-August 8  (Asynchronous, Canvas-Based)

Week 1: Introduction to Generative AI

Read: AI for School Leaders, Introduction and Chapter 1

Assignment:

1. Experiment with a generative AI tool to create a simple educational resource (e.g., a lesson plan outline or a newsletter snippet).
2. Reflection in discussion area.

Week 2: Ensuring Ethical and Safe AI Practices

Read: AI for School Leaders, Chapter 2

Assignment:

1. Develop a set of guidelines or a policy draft for your classroom, school or district that addresses data privacy, ethical considerations, and equitable access when implementing AI tools.
2. Reflection in discussion area.

Week 3: Enhancing Collaborative Decision-Making with AI

Read: AI for School Leaders, Chapter 3

Assignment:

1. Utilize an AI tool to facilitate a collaborative planning session. This could involve generating ideas for a new project, drafting a team proposal, or designing interview questions for a new hire.
2. Reflection in discussion area

Week 4: Building Supportive Relationships and Trust through AI, Communicating with Households

Read: AI for School Leaders, Chapter 4, Chapter 7

Assignment:

1. Create a short communication plan that leverages AI to foster a culture of celebration and support within your school community. This might include drafting personalized messages of appreciation, generating restorative conversation prompts, or developing templates for constructive feedback.
2. Reflection in discussion area.

Week 5: Personalizing Professional Learning with AI

Read: AI for School leaders, Chapter5

Assignment:

1. Design a personalized professional development plan using AI tools to identify areas for growth, recommend resources, and set SMARTIE (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Inclusive, and Equitable) goals. This could be for yourself, your students, colleagues, building, district, etc.  Consider how you can use AI for data management and reporting.
2. Reflection in discussion area.

Week 6: Data Management and Reporting

Read: AI for School leaders, Chapter6

Assignment: 

1. Learn and practice how AI can be used to summarize lengthy reports, develop presentations, consolidate data (non-identifying depending on product), make recommendations and much more. I use it for strategic planning reporting for example. 
2. Reflection in discussion area

For additional course information

Patricia Aigner
(802) 683-5060

For additional registration information

Center for Schools Team
(802) 468-1325

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