Birmingham City Schools Trains Hundreds of Teachers on AI Ahead of New School Year
Birmingham City Schools Trains Hundreds of Teachers on AI Ahead of New School Year
Publish Date: 2026-06-08 15:39:00
Source Domain: abc3340.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in everyday life, Birmingham City Schools is working to ensure educators are prepared to use the technology responsibly in the classroom.
Hundreds of teachers gathered Monday for a districtwide professional development day focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, instructional technology and classroom innovation. The event, themed “Nurture. Guide. Empower.,” was held in partnership with ISTE+ASCD and Birmingham-based education nonprofit EdFarm.
District leaders say the goal is to help teachers understand how AI can support learning while maintaining student privacy, academic integrity and educator oversight.
“We just passed our AI policy in Birmingham City Schools,” said Joanne Stephens, the district’s technology officer. “So this is a great way for our teachers to kind of see some of the things we do.”
Stephens said the training comes as AI becomes more integrated into everyday life and learning environments.
“However, now it is just in everything that we do, and it has that always-on concept,” Stephens said. “So we definitely wanted to start with our teachers.”
Throughout the day, educators participated in hands-on sessions designed to show practical ways AI can be incorporated into teaching and learning.
Stephens said the district intentionally used AI tools to help create elements of the event itself.
“So this—we put this session on, and all the things that we did, we used AI,” she said. “Like we created a website, it was done with AI, we created an app, it was done with AI.”
Organizers say preparing educators is critical because students are already encountering AI technology outside the classroom.
A Birmingham City Schools board member emphasized the importance of helping both teachers and students understand how to use the technology appropriately.
“So first of all, AI’s here to stay,” the board member said. “And if we don’t learn to use it and use it well, then we’re…
