Educators are increasingly recognizing that the successful integration of AI in education hinges not solely on technology adoption but on organizational readiness. Teachers are sharing their stories with our team and expressing valid concerns regarding their own workload, how they can bolster their own skills and increase the time they have with students to support real-time instruction and learning, student engagement, academic integrity, data privacy, and psychological safety. Teachers know that addressing these issues requires serious governance structures, clear decision-making criteria, and leadership that instills confidence in AI’s role within educational settings and not fear. This week’s updates highlight a shift from experimentation to strategic implementation, emphasizing the development of internal capacities, measurement frameworks, and accountability models to ensure AI enhances rather than disrupts learning.
AI in Multilingual Education
The report “Talking Teachers’ Language: AI, Multilingual Pedagogy, and Abilities” digs into how AI can support multilingual education by providing personalized learning experiences and aiding in language acquisition. I walked away from reading this one reminded that if teachers are not shaping prompts, feedback models, and instructional workflows, AI risks reinforcing dominant-language bias and flattening cultural nuance. If AI systems privilege dominant languages, they will widen learning gaps even while claiming personalization benefits. I am hearing more “educational purchasing” folks lean into big questions about validity and reliability of outputs. AI tools that reshape language production also reshape student voice, authorship, and confidence. That is a pedagogical and psychological consideration, not just a technical one. Read the full report and see what you think, at https://ai-for-education.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Talking-Teachers-Language-AI-Multilingual-Pedagogy-Abilities.pdf.
PowerSchool’s 2026 K–12 EdTech Pulse
As some of you all know, I serve on the board for Project Tomorrow. I was excited to learn more about their role and support for PowerSchool’s EdTech Pulse. This new report emphasizes the need for a coherent systems approach and warns against fragmentation limiting technology impact. Reading this report, I was reminded again that stakeholders must be able to select tools aligned to instructional goals and best practice. I know there are so many concerns from teachers that they will be fully replaced by AI. While models emerge it is important to think about the time we spend with students and the necessity of a trained, professional to come along side that learning. Phase 1 of AI in education is time recovery and cognitive offloading, not autonomous teaching. Will see what the Pulse says next year. Read the full report at https://www.powerschool.com/pulse/
University of Tennessee’s AI Workforce Development
If you didn’t catch the news this week, the University of Tennessee is reimagining higher education to align with the rapid pace of workforce changes driven by AI and other emerging technologies. I love the model this work presents to other states and institutions. Tennessee is demonstrating what coordinated AI strategy can look like when research, education, and workforce development are designed together instead of in parallel. By creating a statewide initiative that connects universities, industry, startups, and public-sector partners, the state is building an ecosystem rather than a single program. That kind of cross-sector alignment increases the likelihood that AI innovation translates into real community benefit, talent pipeline development, and sustained economic and education impact. In my view, in its early stages, this is a strong example of how states can move beyond isolated pilots and toward shared infrastructure and shared outcomes around AI and AI readiness. Remember this isn’t just about training people it is about a new strategy for our systems. You can read more about this work at https://research.utk.edu/oried/2026/01/26/from-industry-engagement-to-workforce-development-ut-is-leading-tennessees-ai-future/
Inclusive Bilingual Education with AI
AI is showing real promise as a tool to expand access for emergent bilingual learners by supporting translation, personalized scaffolding, and multilingual content development. As I reviewed the article published this week by the Intercultural Development Research Association, I kept thinking about how important it is that these capabilities are paired with culturally responsive pedagogy. For me, this reinforces what we are seeing globally. Language access is tightly connected to identity, participation, and academic opportunity, which means multilingual AI is fundamentally an equity conversation, not just one focused on technology. I also kept coming back to the responsibility systems must prepare teachers to critically evaluate AI outputs and adapt them to local linguistic and cultural contexts, so we do not unintentionally reinforce existing disparities. There is a real push to use AI to support multi-language learners, give this is a read if you want a good update about where we are at. Read more at https://www.idra.org/resource-center/ai-as-a-tool-for-inclusive-bilingual-education/
That’s it for now – see you next week!
Remember that the future of education is being shaped now. We need informed, thoughtful voices to make meaningful choices. Subscribe to Jody’s newsletter for weekly updates as soon as they’re published athttps://jodybritten.medium.com/subscribe
