Every August, I find myself thinking the same thing. This is the year we build on what we have learned and make it even better.
This year, that means facing something head on. AI is no longer a future conversation. It is already part of our students’ lives, our teachers’ planning, and the conversations families are having at home about learning and homework.
As we begin this school year, here is what I believe matters most, along with a few things that are helping us at Visions in Education.
Be clear about your AI use policy
If we do not communicate how AI should and should not be used, IS students, staff, and families are left to make their own assumptions.
Teachers need to know what appropriate use looks like in lesson planning, feedback, communication, and other daily work. Students need to understand when AI can support learning and when its use crosses into academic dishonesty. Families need straightforward expectations, especially in independent study, where so much learning happens outside a traditional classroom.
At Visions, our AI work starts with clear expectations and responsible use. Having a policy is only the first step. People also need examples of what that policy looks like in real situations.
A good place to start: Take your AI policy and turn it into three simple examples for each audience: staff, students, and families. What is okay? What is not okay? What should someone do when they are unsure?
Treat AI literacy as a year-long commitment, not a single event
One AI training in August is an introduction, not AI literacy. Real literacy develops through repeated practice over time.
Our students and staff need ongoing opportunities to question AI-generated information, recognize bias, protect privacy, evaluate accuracy, and know when human judgment matters most.
At Visions, we are approaching this as ongoing learning. Our students engage in AI literacy lessons each month TK-12. We are also intentionally building teacher capacity through professional learning, shared resources, and our new AI Innovator cohort in partnership with aiEDU.
A good place to start: Put AI literacy on your calendar for the entire year. Choose one skill or question each month for students and staff to explore, and create opportunities for teachers to share what they are learning with one another.
Bring families into the conversation from the very beginning
Independent study has always been built on partnership. Families are asking many of the same questions we are:
Is AI helping my student learn or doing the work for them?
How can I help my student use it responsibly?
Independent Study schools have an opportunity to help families navigate those questions instead of leaving them to figure it out alone.
At Visions, we are building AI literacy into our Parent University offerings and creating resources families can use with their students. Our goal is to give families the information and tools to have meaningful conversations at home.
A good place to start: Host one family webinar or virtual conversation about AI. Keep it practical. Explain your expectations, show families what students are encountering, and give them a few questions they can use at home.
Resources I recommend for independent study leaders
You do not need to build all of this from scratch. These are resources that are helping inform our AI Literacy initiatives at Visions In Education.
A great starting point for hosting an AI-focused family night. It includes ready-to-use activities and conversation starters.
A strong choice for free AI literacy resources you can use tomorrow. The lessons focus on questioning AI output, recognizing bias, evaluating information, and using AI to strengthen rather than replace thinking. Our partnership with aiEDU has helped us build a more intentional approach to AI literacy across Visions.
An accessible entry point for younger students, especially if your program already uses BrainPOP.
Your own teachers
This may be the most important resource on the list.
Some of the best professional learning happens when teachers see another teacher demonstrate something practical that is actually working.
At Visions, we are working to create more opportunities for educators to share those examples with one another. That might be a short demonstration, a shared resource, a quick video, or a conversation about how a teacher used AI to solve a real instructional challenge.
You do not always need another outside training. Sometimes you need to make the expertise already inside your organization more visible.
And if you are looking for something written specifically for school leaders navigating this work, Leading AI in Schools offers practical strategies for building AI literacy with your staff and students.
Where I will leave you
You do not need every answer about AI this year. None of us do. What matters is choosing to lead the learning.
Be clear about expectations. Build literacy over time. Invest in your teachers. Bring your families with you.
At Visions, I am incredibly proud of the capacity we are building across our organization and excited about where this work is taking us.
Wishing you a wonderful start to the school year.
Sarah McFarland – Let’s Connect
Director of Educational Technology
Visions In Education
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