SETDA

Grateful to join SETDA’s AI Across State Lines collaborative this week at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State, where state education leaders from across the country gathered to turn AI policy into practice. I had the honor of sharing Wichita Public Schools’ district perspective — how we’re moving from guidance to implementation: building AI fluency for educators, translating policy into classroom-ready tools, rethinking procurement and privacy safeguards, and closing the gap between what’s written in a policy document and what actually happens in a school building. The work of this collab is ambitious and exactly what the field needs — a K–12 AI Policy & Practice Report, a Fit-for-Context Toolkit states can adapt, and sustained leadership capacity building that turns frameworks into action. We wrestled with real tensions: screen-time bans vs. purposeful integration, accountability systems vs. durable skills, innovation vs. risk, and how we communicate with families before fear-based narratives define the conversation. What struck me most is that none of us are doing this alone. SEAs, districts, higher ed, and partners like the Center for Democracy and Technology are building shared playbooks, procurement language, readiness tools, and communication supports so every state doesn’t have to start from scratch. Thank you to @SETDA and the Friday Institute for convening this work — and to every leader in the room pushing to make sure responsible, purposeful AI reaches every student. @juliafallon #SETDA #FridayInstitute #K12 #AIinEducation #EdLeadership #WichitaPublicSchools