Technology should empower great teachers—not replace them
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how people learn, work, communicate, and create. Those changes are beginning to reach classrooms as well.
For Alameda, the question is not simply whether AI will affect education. It is how we choose to respond.
I believe our schools should approach AI thoughtfully—exploring opportunities to improve learning and support educators while protecting privacy, promoting equity, preserving human relationships, and helping students develop the judgment to use these tools responsibly.
WHY THIS CONVERSATION MATTERS
AI creates genuine opportunities in education.
It may help teachers personalize instruction, give students additional ways to explore difficult concepts, reduce routine administrative work, and provide educators with new tools for creating lessons and supporting individual learners.
But important questions come with those opportunities.
How should student information be protected? How do we make sure technology expands opportunity rather than widening existing gaps? How should students learn to distinguish their own thinking from work produced by AI? Where should schools draw boundaries around appropriate use?
These are educational and community questions—not simply technology questions.
FOUR PRINCIPLES FOR ALAMEDA
GREAT TEACHING COMES FIRST
Technology should strengthen the work of educators, not diminish the importance of teachers and the relationships they build with students.
STUDENT PRIVACY MUST BE PROTECTED
Schools should understand how AI systems collect, use, retain, and share student information before those systems become part of teaching and learning.
ACCESS SHOULD BE EQUITABLE
New technologies should expand opportunities for students rather than create another divide between those who have access to powerful tools and those who do not.
STUDENTS NEED AI LITERACY
Preparing students for the future means more than teaching them how to operate AI tools. Students should learn how these systems work, where they can fail, how to evaluate their output, and when independent human judgment matters.
QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ASKING
Before Alameda establishes long-term policies around AI, I believe our community should have meaningful conversations around questions such as:
Where can AI genuinely improve student learning?
How can AI help teachers while preserving the central role of educators?
What student information should never be shared with an AI system?
How should schools address bias, misinformation, and inaccurate AI-generated answers?
When is using AI appropriate student assistance, and when does it interfere with learning?
How should expectations differ by student age and grade level?
How do we ensure all students have equitable access?
What training and support do teachers need?
How should students and families participate in these decisions?
How will we evaluate whether an AI initiative is actually improving education?
I would not try to answer every question on this page. Their presence reinforces the idea that good governance begins by asking the right questions.
A THOUGHTFUL PATH FORWARD
I do not believe the Board of Education should select a particular AI model, application, or instructional program before educators and the community have had an opportunity to understand the choices and participate in the discussion.
The Board’s responsibility is different.
It should establish clear expectations around student safety, privacy, equity, transparency, educational value, and accountability. It should support educators as they learn how these technologies can—and cannot—improve teaching. And it should create opportunities for students, families, teachers, administrators, and community members to help shape the direction Alameda takes.
AI will continue to change. Our principles should be strong enough to guide us even as the technology evolves.
THE OPPORTUNITY
There is also a reason for optimism.
Used thoughtfully, AI could give students new ways to explore ideas, receive individualized assistance, develop creativity, and pursue their curiosity. It could give educators additional tools while allowing them to spend more time doing what technology cannot replace: knowing their students, inspiring them, challenging them, and helping them grow.
The goal should not be to bring more technology into classrooms simply because it exists.
The goal should be to use technology when it makes education better.
ONE EXAMPLE: CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools offers one example of how a public school district is approaching artificial intelligence thoughtfully. CMS began with community engagement, developed guiding principles, emphasized AI literacy and data privacy, and is providing resources for educators, students, and families.
Alameda is a very different community and should develop its own approach. But examples like CMS demonstrate that districts do not have to choose between ignoring AI and rushing into it. There is a third path: learn, engage the community, establish guardrails, and move forward thoughtfully.
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Join the Conversation
Artificial intelligence will continue to change, but the values that guide our schools should be shaped by the Alameda community.
I welcome your perspective on where AI may help students and educators, where boundaries are needed, what protections should be in place, and what questions AUSD should be asking before new technologies become part of teaching and learning.
Students, educators, families, administrators, and community members should all have a voice in these decisions.
I hope this campaign can help create that conversation.
Join the Conversation