LM Jan 2025

in the moment to have conversations about how this fits and how this will work for you. We want to provide opportunities for teams to collaborate and develop actionable plans during this workshop and then go back ready to work with concrete steps they want to take to make changes. Q: How do these workshops fit into IASA’s bigger picture? DB: This is part of IASA’s Vision 2030 framework, focusing on preparing schools to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. This series is just the beginning of a sustained effort to embed AI readiness into all aspects of professional development for Illinois school leaders. We have an AI 1.0 Admin Academy online, we’re planning the fall superintendents conference with Dr. Daggett, and we hope to offer more practical opportunities through AI summits or working with districts individually. We want to be there with you through the entire journey. Q: Final thoughts? BD: I really think they need to come to these regional meetings as a team. Every district has their own DNA, and that DNA is impacted by what happens at the classroom level, building level, community level, and board level. At these regional meetings, we’ll not only share the most

successful innovative practices we’re seeing across the country, we’re going to give you time to work as a team to actually develop action plans - steps you can take when you get back home. These would be steps about how to use AI in administrative tasks and at the classroom level to connect with this generation of students who have different expectations and skill sets than previous generations. We’ll try to give you specific examples, but the examples won’t work unless you have boardroom-to-classroom support. DB: This is a monumental shift. There are challenges, but there are also tremendous opportunities. We have to act now—this is the slowest our technology is ever going to be, and the pace of change will only accelerate. We can’t afford to wait. We must embrace this moment. We are doing great things in Illinois, and we have the opportunity to harness this potential effectively and collaboratively. It’s not just about keeping up—it’s about leading the way forward for the future of our learners and education. Feel free to reach out to me at dbridges@isaedu.org, or contact Kristi in our office at 217-753-2213 to register.

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