The advent of AI in schools presents a new slew of obstacles and questions for educators and administrators: How can investments and policies ensure these benefits reach the students most in need? How will so many districts train up their teachers amid other pressing priorities and increasing financial constraints? How can educators learn quickly about which AI tools and strategies work best?
At CRPE, we are deeply engaged in trying to help answer these questions by understanding and shaping the impact of AI in K–12 education. We are committed to leading the way in this important work, ensuring that AI becomes a tool for enhancing learning and equity, rather than exacerbating existing disparities.
The Center on Reinventing Public Education has announced its inaugural AI Fellowship Cohort, a group of visionary policymakers, system leaders, educators, researchers, funders, and tech experts who will collectively work to address the toughest challenges around AI in education.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how school districts plan instruction, support teachers, and engage students. AI has the potential to transform the education delivery model and address learning gaps—but without more support, guidance, and resources, it could have the opposite effect.
How are educators engaging with AI to support teaching and learning? In partnership with the Silicon Schools Fund, CRPE studied 18 California schools that piloted AI tools to address core instructional challenges, including learning gaps, low engagement, time constraints, and behavioral issues.
As AI rapidly reshapes the classroom, families are hopeful but uncertain. While the majority of families surveyed by the National Parents Union (NPU) in 2023 agreed that the potential benefits of AI in K-12 education either outweigh or are equal to the possible downsides, only a fraction feel confident in their understanding of the technology.
In the two years since ChatGPT’s release, generative AI (genAI) tools have flooded the K-12 education space. Each day, educators and administrators hear new claims about AI’s power to transform learning, while also facing warnings about its dangers.
For decades, students of color and those from low-income communities have faced persistent achievement gaps in our education system. Despite countless reform efforts, these students continue to encounter barriers to accessing high-quality, personalized instruction that builds critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
