AI’s arrival in education has been both liberating and unsettling. In my new book, The Educators’ AI Guide 2026, I divide educators into two groups: the pragmatists, who use AI to reclaim time and improve efficiency, and the frustrated visionaries, who see AI as a catalyst to reinvent schooling altogether. The truth is, both perspectives are necessary.
That dual mindset, balancing practical improvement with long-term reinvention, is the new leadership skill every teacher and principal must master. AI isn’t just a technological shift, it’s a cultural one that requires direction from the top.
Jenny Maxwell, vice president at Grammarly and contributor to the book, writes that modern school leaders must be “both guardians and explorers.” They’re expected to keep communities safe while also venturing into unfamiliar digital territory. The tension between those two duties defines contemporary educational leadership.
AI compliance expert and school administrator Matthew Wemyss put it more bluntly: “Schools are powerhouses of data and that makes them targets.” For leaders, the job is no longer only about safeguarding students from physical harm, but also protecting them from digital exploitation. The same tools that promise personalized learning also open new vulnerabilities around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and misinformation. Effective leaders understand how these systems work, who controls them, and what values guide their use.
Safeguarding must expand beyond familiar boundaries. Wemyss outlines a pragmatic three-step framework for schools:
AI ethics can sometimes feel like an abstract debate, but it can’t be left at a high level. It’s child protection in digital form.
If safeguarding is the foundation, literacy is the architecture built upon it. 79% of teachers feel their schools lack clear AI policies, yet where guidance exists, teachers feel more confident, report less cheating, and there’s less need for AI-police detection tools. Confidence grows from clarity, and clarity depends on literacy.
In the book, Steve Karandy, district administrator for K-12 instructional technology at Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District in New York, calls AI literacy “our toolbox.” His district embedded it into professional learning, ensuring every teacher could explain, not just use, AI systems. Similarly, Abeda Natha, director of digital learning at GEMS Wellington International School in Dubai, reframed AI training around ethics and inclusion, creating “AI ambassadors” among staff who model responsible experimentation. These schools show that literacy is both a safeguard and an enabler. It reduces fear while unleashing creativity.
AI literacy is one of the most important safeguards you can put in place. UNESCO, the U.S. Department of Education, and the European Commission all identify it as essential professional development for educators. Leaders who neglect it risk widening the AI divide and contributing to a two-tier system where some students harness AI confidently while others are left behind.
No single school has all the answers, and in this new paradigm, collaboration is the most powerful leadership tool of all. In the book, Natha describes how informal “coffee-cart conversations” at GEMS Dubai built momentum faster than formal directives. Teachers shared prompt ideas, discussed ethical dilemmas, and celebrated small wins. The result was cultural change.
Karandy took a similar approach as assistant principal at Mohonasen High School: celebrating “teacher champions” who shared successes across departments. The process turned AI from a compliance issue into a shared professional adventure. As he observed, “Schools that listen, learn, and adapt together evolve faster, and more safely, than those acting in isolation.”
The lesson for leaders is clear: Open networks outperform closed systems. The exchange of practical experience can accelerate progress and prevent repeated mistakes. This can be done through regional collaborations, trust partnerships, or online forums.
We must be frustrated pragmatists when it comes to AI in our schools. Education needs both managerial and heretical leaders: those who maintain stability and those who dare to reimagine. The managerial leader ensures safeguarding, compliance, and accountability; the heretical leader questions whether existing models still serve their purpose. Good leadership manages the present while challenging its shelf life.
That balance is the heart of preparedness. Leaders must protect the integrity of the current system while simultaneously designing its successor.
Ultimately, the question isn’t whether AI belongs in schools, but how schools will belong in an AI-driven world. The leaders who thrive will be those who approach the challenge as learners themselves.
Watch the recording of Dan Fitzpatrick’s keynote presentation at Elevating Innovation, The AI Classroom, along with all Elevating Innovation sessions on Verizon Innovative Learning HQ.
