Blog
Why AI Readiness Is About Culture, Not Code
In conversations with education leaders across the Middle States network, one question keeps coming up: “How do we embrace AI without sacrificing what makes learning deeply human?”
Globally, education leaders are grappling with similar AI readiness questions, as reflected in UNESCO’s comprehensive new anthology, AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions (UNESCO, 2025).
Advancing Ethical AI In An Online School System
Excel is pairing AI with competency checks so students can show what they know and get to the right next step. They will expand their in-course tutor and teacher-facing supports with the same closed-system guardrails.
“AI will help students demonstrate competency and then challenge them in ways that fit their learning style” — Charlie Buehler Hoard, COO
Leading the Way: What the UAE’s AI Mandate Signals for Schools Everywhere
This year marks a turning point for education. For the 2025–26 academic year, the Ministry of Education in the UAE is implementing an Artificial Intelligence curriculum across all public schools (Rasheed, 2025).
The goal of this curriculum is to strengthen students’ abilities to apply AI technology in a “safe, ethical, and responsible manner” (Rasheed, 2025).
Leading With Process Before Product at Mt. Lebanon
Our latest spotlight features Mt. Lebanon High School in Pennsylvania. As a public school system, they approached AI with caution, not hype. With the RAIL endorsement as a guide, they created space for experimentation, grounded decisions in values, and made real shifts in both policy and practice. Their English department’s move to emphasize process over product is just one example of how responsible AI can drive deeper learning.
Emerging from Stealth Mode: Middle States AI Fellows
What if you aren’t ready for a full school commitment to AI? What do you do when only a few teachers are ready to lead the way? We have been working in stealth mode on something new to help schools adopt AI responsibly. It is an implementation framework that doubles as a community of practice. We call it AI Fellows.
International School of Lusaka’s Strategic Response to AI
When ChatGPT was released in late 2022, Dr. Liam Hammer had other priorities as the new Head of School of the International School of Lusaka. But as AI conversations intensified globally, the ISL board began pressing for immediate action. A board member had used ChatGPT to write an AI policy for the school and wanted to ratify that policy.
Why AI and What Is Middle States Doing About It?
Thirty years ago, many of my classmates reacted to the idea of co-existing with AI with a, “Yeah right.” Some of us reacted with, “What if…?” Today, we all have to ask, “What now?”