are learning at their potential, and there’s some times where we don’t need to use technology. It’s those key decisions that our educators make that’s most important,” Smith explains. This forward-thinking mindset is most evident in the district’s pioneering stance on Artificial Intelligence. “We were the first school district in the state of Virginia to have a policy on AI,” Smith states. Recognizing that the technology is evolving, this policy is reviewed annually. The implementation strategy is grounded in comprehensive capacity building.The district has established a “badge” system for its 5,500 employees, allowing them to progress as beginner, intermediate, or advanced learners based on their understanding of AI’s benefits and drawbacks. Furthermore, Stafford County is leveraging partnerships with institutions like George Mason University to create cohorts focused on using AI for school improvement and harnessing data to close achievement gaps. “Some of our staff are specifically working on school improvement processes and how we can utilize and leverage AI to help us think about school improvement and really harness some data that we might not have been able to access,” Smith states. 355 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 02 STAFFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx