🎉 Happy New School Year, Alvord Family! 🎉

As we kick off a brand new school year, many of our teachers and students will be exploring AI for the first time. Whether this feels exciting, a bit daunting, or somewhere in between, know that the Educational Services team at Alvord is here to support you every step of the way 💪.

Our commitment remains strong: to provide the best education possible and prepare our students to thrive in the Alvord community—and beyond 🌍. One important part of this mission is teaching everyone how to leverage AI responsibly and effectively. AI can enrich learning in many ways: enhancing classroom instruction, providing meaningful feedback to improve presentations and critical thinking 🧠, and personalizing learning experiences in ways we couldn’t imagine before 🌟.

Of course, this comes with clear expectations. In Alvord, our AI use is guided by these principles:

• 🌐 We are members of a global digital community, learning together to use AI ethically and responsibly.
• 🔍 We will always be transparent about AI’s role—whether it’s the starting point, a tool in the process, or a final resource—but never the sole source.
• 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ Human intelligence leads the way. AI use must always begin and end with thoughtful human guidance.

Starting this school year, our teachers have access to a variety of AI tools to support lesson planning, assignment creation, and feedback ✏️. Students aged 13 and older will have access to a special version of Google Gemini, used thoughtfully under their teachers’ direction, to support learning, thinking, and presentations 🎓.

For our teachers, we’re excited to announce the AI Professional Development Calendar for 2025/26! 📅 These voluntary sessions will help you explore AI tools and strategies. Interested in co-facilitating? Please reach out to robert.schwandt@alvordschools.org 📧.

Don’t want to wait to get started on your AI learning journey? Here are some of my favorite resources for teacher training:

• Alludo Learning (Sign in through Classlink)
• Magicschool AI Teacher Certification

Throughout the year, we’ll also be gathering feedback from teachers and students via surveys 📝. This data will guide the Alvord AI Task Force to ensure safe, effective AI integration, provide valuable resources for teachers, and support our community’s goals for student success 🎯.

Here’s to a fantastic school year—made even better by AI helping our teachers and students create amazing learning experiences together! 🚀✨