These days, we can’t avoid talking about artificial intelligence (AI) in K-12 education. And the wide range of district responses — from outright fear and bans on ChatGPT to rapid-fire attempts to launch these tools in schools — points to just how much we have to learn about this emergent technology.
Most discussions about AI have centered around classrooms and student learning, and understandably so. Amidst concerns like increased opportunities for cheating (despite evidence to the contrary) and the potential negative impacts on social-emotional development, we also hear praise for AI tools saving time and energy for educators.
Alina Tugend describes the challenge well in her report for FutureEd: “In fact, AI, like all technology, is neither inherently good nor bad; what matters is how it’s deployed… Social media, the internet and cell phones all offer cautionary tales about embracing technology without thinking carefully about how to introduce it. The challenge for educators is to use artificial intelligence in ways that tap its unprecedented power to strengthen both teaching and learning while mitigating its liabilities.”
There is another, quieter shift with AI adoption behind the scenes in district and school administrative offices. This technology has the potential to help both teachers and administrators become more efficient and strategic with their limited time and energy.
Let’s explore what hacks AI presents to building leadership and human resources teams and what cautions may be merited.
Recruiting teams are constantly devising creative ways to market their district, spread the word about open roles, and attract high-quality candidates. With the right prompts and design details provided, AI can generate an impressive range of artifacts, saving recruiters and building leaders time — and perhaps even frustration upfront with the early stages of creative work.
First, AI can assist teams to get their ideas “on digital paper” and develop a first version of marketing materials. In fact, that’s exactly what one recruiter at St. Lucie Public Schools in Florida does.
Mollie Dunn, Coordinator of Recruitment and Retention, takes full advantage of built-in AI tools in Canva and other resources when developing her district’s marketing assets. Whether it’s designing digital advertisements or writing a catchy social media post, as she puts it, “AI is our friend!”
AI can also guide building materials necessary for the hiring and onboarding process, like job descriptions. Candidates searching for positions naturally turn to the job description to see what responsibilities a role entails, but a poorly written or vague one can be enough to turn a viable candidate away.
A recruiter or school principal may use AI to draft the initial version of a job description because this technology can quickly and easily organize information about the role in a sensical way. This approach is especially useful for positions that are brand-new to a district or when you need a starting point to then refine later.
Did you know? Red Rover Hiring offers an in-platform AI tool designed just for this purpose — learn more here.
Despite its versatility in creative support, AI still has blindspots that HR teams should remain aware of when taking advantage of this hack:
In Red Rover’s Hiring solution, recruiters can take advantage of a library of prebuilt, fully customizable templates as an alternative to kicking off a first draft with AI. This resource is especially useful when recruiting for supplemental jobs, for which districts may not have formal job descriptions on file and ready for use.
Expectations around communication have greatly changed as tools have enabled real-time responsiveness and greater access between people and organizations. This shift is both a blessing and a curse. HR teams, for example, can reach more qualified candidates across wider regions. Yet those same staff members may also face a ton of inbound information that can be challenging to manage.
AI can — and in many schools, already is — supporting front office and administrative staff with managing large volumes of communications. Chatbots embedded on district websites are the most common example. These AI personas can answer simple and straightforward questions from parents, substitute staff, and others. Anything that goes beyond the scope of the chatbot is then funneled to the right departments within the school or district.
Internally, AI also supports internal teams with communication matters, too. In addition to drafting initial emails or bulletin board announcements to all staff, district leaders can set up automated reminders for themselves or their teams about specific tasks for upcoming deliverables. Read this interview with EdWeek, where three principals share how they lean on AI bots to help them navigate more complex tasks and communications, such as writing a letter about a disciplinary issue for a parent using a neutral tone.
Here again, AI can only tackle so much when it comes to communication. And in some cases, it is actually a terrible support system!
In short, AI isn’t great for communicating about highly nuanced or sensitive topics. Every district has its list of “touchy” or context-specific topics that may require an extra cautious approach to discussion. Communication about these subjects will require a level of finesse, discernment, and empathy with one’s audience that AI simply does not (yet) offer. This is true whether the communication is written, presented visually, or shared verbally.
Consider using AI to start an initial draft or outline for communications, but be wary of hitting “send” before careful scrutiny.
Data is an essential piece of any district’s puzzle, whether it’s restrategizing the substitute teaching experience to improve retention or assessing whether or not to break a lousy long-term contract with a vendor for a subpar platform. Here, AI can save teams time and effort with understanding patterns across large datasets.
Take substitute teacher feedback, for instance. Amidst a fluctuating teacher shortage, districts are increasingly sourcing input from their guest staff to understand what drives them to accept job assignments (and what may drive them away from supporting their schools). Most survey platforms offer pre-created reports summarizing survey response trends, including open-ended feedback. While some of these reports and tools may lean on AI, district administrators can also prompt AI directly to glean the top takeaways from the raw data.
District teams may also use AI to research particular subjects, like developing new guidelines for how staff can use AI or a state’s policies on contract worker benefits. With the right prompts and guidance, AI can near-instantly synthesize findings about most topics from the Internet and give district leaders a starting point to take action.
Though incredibly convenient and efficient, these capabilities of AI are not infallible.
As with any new K-12 technology, we will continue to learn what works and what doesn’t; however, having a strategic approach to AI is still important.
Here are tips for district and school leaders as they explore how AI can benefit their administrative staff:
Technology is constantly evolving — so too should your HR tools and processes. Red Rover embeds AI into our hiring solution to ease the effort required for those mundane tasks involved in recruiting. Request a demo today to learn more about how our modern K-12 workforce management solutions can save your staff time, energy, and headaches!