Artificial-intelligence tools will play a larger role in Arlington Public Schools classrooms and operations in the coming school year.
After a pilot program last year that involved about 400 educators, the school system has selected SchoolAI as its primary artificial-intelligence tool. In addition, staff will have access to Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini and NotebookLM for professional use.
Superintendent Francisco Durán said that SchoolAI was selected “due to its strong alignment with classroom needs, educator-control features and commitment to student-data privacy.”
“We’re looking at all the ways it can better support our school system,” Durán said in an Aug. 7 briefing to School Board members. “We need to prepare our students and staff for the future.”
The tools being rolled out will support students “with a secure and supportive environment” to explore AI, Durán said at the meeting.
The incorporation of AI tools into the curriculum represents what could be the biggest technological leap in the nation’s classrooms since computers first made their appearance in the 1980s.
AI will also provide opportunities for the county school system to be “more efficient and fiscally conscious,” School Board member Mary Kadera said at the meeting.
She pointed to the use of AI programs to streamline scheduling and optimize bus routes as opportunities going forward.
School system honored for budget presentation: APS has been honored with the 2025-26 Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International, or ASBO.
The award acknowledges “our sound financial-management and business practices,” Durán said at the Aug. 7 School Board meeting.
It is based on the school system’s fiscal year 2026 budget, which was adopted in the spring and took effect July 1.
A complete list of 2025-26 award recipients has yet to be posted by ASBO. For 2024-25, the Arlington school system was among 15 school divisions across Virginia to earn the award.
Superintendent honored with national recognition: Additionally, Durán recently was honored as one of the top 10 school superintendents nationally by Education Insider magazine.
Durán was selected for being “a visionary leader who fosters inclusive environments, advances academic excellence and prioritizes holistic student well-being,” the magazine noted.
He was the lone superintendent from Virginia and the D.C. metropolitan region to be honored in 2025.
Photo via Anastassia Anufrieva/Unsplash
