Pre-con Workshop - AI in Practice - How Schools Are Actually Doing the Work

AI in Practice: How Schools Are Actually Doing the Work

Pre-conference Workshop | Sunday, April 26 | 1–4 pm

This interactive pre-conference workshop brings together a small group of independent school leaders who are actively implementing AI across their campuses. Rather than featuring a single presenter or polished case studies, this session is designed as a shared, candid conversation among peers who are making real decisions about AI right now.

Topics

A major highlight of the workshop is a featured conversation with students from Mid-Pacific Institute, this year’s ATLIS Aspire Award winners. In Don’t Ask the Experts, Ask the Students, students will share how they are actually using AI, where they see promise, where they see problems, and what they want adults in schools to better understand. Their perspective sets the stage for a broader look at what responsible and informed AI use can look like in practice.

From there, the workshop moves into Discerning, Informed and Ethical AI Use in Practice, which will examine how schools can define their approach to AI with greater clarity and intentionality. Participants will reflect on where they see alignment between values and practice, and where gaps still remain.

In Deepfake Safety… For 11 Year Olds, Evan Harris will lead participants through a practical and age-appropriate exploration of deepfake ethics and safety. This portion of the workshop will focus on the human side of decision making, helping school leaders think about how to talk with students and colleagues about values, trust, and harm.

The session will conclude with Rolling Your Own LLM Integrations/Instances, a forward-looking conversation about privacy, governance, control, and the tradeoffs schools face when adopting AI tools. This segment will challenge participants to think more critically about convenience, risk, and what it means to build a more intentional AI ecosystem.

Each segment is intentionally discussion-driven, with built-in time for questions, reflection, and group dialogue. Attendees should expect to participate actively, share their own experiences, and learn directly from colleagues who are navigating similar challenges.

Audience

This workshop is ideal for technology leaders, academic leaders, and administrators who are looking for practical insight, thoughtful conversation, and concrete ideas they can adapt to their own school contexts.