One Parker

Dear Parker Families and Students,

Following the adoption of Parker’s AI Policy during the 2024-2025 school year, our efforts for the 2025-2026 academic year have been focused on reflection, awareness, and standards adoption. We are pleased to share the latest progress on our schoolwide AI practices. With this work, we strive to foster AI literacy while ensuring ethical, intentional, and safe use across all grade levels. 

How We Evaluate Technology

At Parker, we do not adopt technology simply because it is new. AI will be a part of our students’ future and must be explored for our community to remain responsive to the shifting needs of society. We choose to lean into the messiness of this emerging field because it provides experiential opportunities for our students to develop discernment, engage ethically, and hone curiosity through technology that will undoubtedly be a part of their experiences beyond Parker. Student technology use demands consistent assessment to understand its impact on the student experience, and the School returns to a series of questions regularly to ensure our decisions always serve the mission and keep students centered:

• When does technology enhance a learning experience, and when does it diminish it? 
• Is this tool right for the student’s age and development? 
• How do we protect the conditions that make learning meaningful?

These are not new questions, but AI has given them new urgency. The AI Steering Committee—comprised of the Office for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Director of Instructional Technology and Information Systems, Educational Technology Coordinators, and school Librarians—is committed to approaching technology thoughtfully, ensuring that our policies reflect not just the moment we are in, but the enduring values that define a Parker education.

Mindset Alignment: Character, Connection, and Choice

While AI tools can enhance and extend our work, they cannot replicate the empathy, civility, kindness, intellectual curiosity, and sense of belonging that define the Parker community. In the context of AI, our mission requires that we prioritize:

• Human Connection
  We see Parker faculty as champions of our engaging classroom environment and trust in their preservation of the elements of meaningful learning: focus, struggle, collaboration, inquiry, and reflection that prioritize student growth over technological convenience. 
• The Mind
  We reject the use of AI to outsource thinking; instead, we champion "Skills Before Tools," ensuring that students develop the cognitive fortitude to question, evaluate, and direct these technologies. 
• Future Forward 
  Preparing students for a future we cannot yet fully imagine compels us to instill durable technology literacy skills, critical analysis, ethical reasoning, and adaptability. We equip students to navigate uncertainty and misinformation while preparing them to shape the future with strength of character, regardless of how the technology evolves.

But what are students doing this year?

• All Middle School and Upper School students will receive a foundational introductory lesson establishing a common language for AI at our school by April 2026.
• Students in Grades 4 and 5 are scheduled to engage in two dedicated, age-appropriate introductory lessons focused on digital wellness and foundational offline concepts this spring.
• Select Middle and Upper School classrooms have begun testing specific, student-approved AI tools under the direct supervision of teachers and divisional EdTech Coordinators. 

Student Voice & Community Engagement

• We have surveyed Grade 5, as well as representative cohorts from the Middle and Upper Schools, about AI awareness, adoption, and feelings to ensure our strategy is informed by student perspectives.
• We have officially launched Student AI Advisory Councils for both Middle and Upper Schools. These groups meet monthly to provide formal feedback on policy and practice.
• The student-led AI Club remains active primarily as a social space for enthusiasts, though we see great potential for this group to serve as a "sandbox" for piloting new initiatives.

Now and Next

The AI Steering Committee is currently working on three short-term outcomes:

1. Defined AI competencies for every student;
2. Broadened Digital and Media Literacy lessons that incorporate AI standards; and
3. Prepared, clear guidance for responsible AI use. 

At the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year, the AI Steering Committee will release the Parker AI Playbook, which will include updated policies, AI use guidelines, and resources for our community. We look forward to our continued partnership in this journey.

Please contact Head of the Office for Excellence for Teaching and Learning Erika Assadi at eassadi@francisparker.org with any questions about AI Literacy or Parker AI programming. Please fill out this form if you are interested in joining a future parent/guardian focus group.

Sincerely,
The AI Steering Committee