Building AI Literacy in Georgia Classrooms

The NSF AI4OPT High School Teacher Training Program, held at Georgia Tech from June 25 to July 3, 2025, successfully brought together a select group of high school educators to build the skills and confidence needed to launch or expand AI curriculum in their schools. This initiative focused on preparing teachers to guide students in creating AI—developing the core concepts and skills behind artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Targeted especially toward districts where AI content is not yet available, the program aims to expand access to AI education, supporting long-term career pathways in a rapidly growing field.

Program Design: Supporting Educators at All Levels

The program was structured to support both expert and novice AI teachers. Expert teachers were selected for their experience with AI instruction or for implementing AI pathways in their schools, expert teachers kicked off the program two days early. They shared best practices and built a curriculum resource repository, then collaborated with novice teachers and further developed their own course content.

Novice Teachers were chosen for their interest in launching AI programs, novice teachers participated in a five-day immersion to learn AI fundamentals and hands-on teaching strategies.

The instructional experience included lectures by subject matter experts, access to the Seth Bonder Camp Level 3 curriculum, hands-on labs with Raspberry Pi hardware, and dedicated time for collaborative curriculum development aligned with the Georgia Standards of Excellence AI Pathway.

Ongoing Support and Growing Community

AI4OPT designed the training program to foster long-term support and mentorship. Teachers remain connected through a GroupMe chat and will meet virtually three times during the 2025–26 school year to continue sharing resources and updates.

The program was facilitated by Beth White, engineering teacher at Drew Charter School and longtime AI4OPT partner. White’s experience building and teaching high school AI courses in partnership with Pascal Van Hentenryck, the A. Russell Chandler III Chair and professor at Georgia Tech, and director of the U.S. National Science Foundation AI Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) and Tech AI, helped shape the program's unique balance between technical rigor and real-world classroom relevance.

Outcomes and Vision for the Future

Participants reported increased confidence in teaching AI, stronger familiarity with instructional tools, and valuable connections with fellow educators. In total, the program is expected to benefit nearly 2,000 students across Georgia.

Educators are expected to implement new or expanded AI curricula, contribute to the shared resource repository, and serve as ambassadors for AI education in their schools and districts. Looking ahead, this year’s cohort may return as expert teachers and mentors for future novice cohorts.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with these passionate educators and to seeing their students thrive in the AI-driven future ahead.