Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS) is the only school district in Michigan, and just one of 11 nationwide, to receive a $25,000 grant to participate in a prestigious artificial intelligence (AI) training program. The grant comes from AI x Coherence Academy, which is supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and led by the national policy organization Education First. AI x Coherence Academy's nine-month program will provide YCS staff with coaching and workshops to help align AI initiatives with meaningful educational outcomes.

YCS Superintendent Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross notes that this is not the district’s first initiative to educate students and staff about artificial intelligence tools and resources. For example, Ypsilanti Community High School was also recently chosen as an HP AI Spotlight School, meaning that the school received new computers and other technology to outfit a new AI learning studio space. However, the tailored coaching provided by the nine-month AI x Coherence program will allow for the district to better determine what resources will best support teachers and students.

"We want to be able to articulate a clear vision of how we see AI being implemented in the district," Zachery-Ross says. "Our hope is that by going through this process and really studying what is happening in our district, that we can determine how these tools can assist our students and staff."

Zachery-Ross also hopes that the training will help the district make informed financial decisions about providing more AI resources for teachers, in addition to educating students about available tools and technologies. She emphasizes that embracing the evolving AI landscape requires a willingness to learn alongside students.

"[Given] the rapid pace that generative AI seems to be moving, we have to be vulnerable as educators and be willing to learn and be coached," Zachery-Ross says. "We understand that we have to be in the students’ seat at this point because there is so much happening and changing."

While the program is set to conclude this summer, Zachery-Ross hopes it will help provide YCS students an edge when it comes to entering the job market after graduating. 

"The more our students know, the more career options they’ll have in the future if they go on and become entrepreneurs," Zachery-Ross says. "To be able to see those opportunities beyond what the present reality is through this program, it’s going to be fantastic for our students."

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photo courtesy of Ypsilanti Community Schools.