Blog
Support Without Strings: How Lighthouse Christian Academy Earned Accreditation and Kept Its Identity
They needed accreditation but feared what it might cost them. Lighthouse Christian Academy didn't want a credential that required them to become a different school. Turns out, they didn't have to.
When Thinking becomes the Work: Excellence in Learning at American School of Milan
The school had strong outcomes — but couldn't always articulate what was driving them. Through the accreditation process, American School of Milan found language for what they were already doing well, and clarity on what to do next.
Permission to Be Who We Are: How The Mission Academy Unlocked Choose Act Funding Without Changing Its Model
They needed access to state funding — but not at the cost of their model. The Mission Academy found a path that unlocked Choose Act dollars without asking them to look like every other school.
“I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know”: How One Indiana Founder Turned a Scrappy Microschool into Something Built to Last
She had a vision, a community, and zero roadmap. Starting a microschool means making decisions you don't yet know how to make. Here's how one Indiana founder turned that uncertainty into a school built to last.
Make the bug a feature: At Episcopal Academy, the conditions came first
We kept hitting the same wall: we had faculty willing to try AI, but no shared language for what "good" looked like. Episcopal Academy didn't wait for the perfect policy. They built the conditions first — and let the tools follow.
Skills First, Technology Second: How Rye Country Day School Built AI Around Competency-Based Learning
The tools arrived before the question did. Rye Country Day School paused and asked: what do we actually want students to be able to do? The answer changed everything about how they brought AI in.
AI in Their Pockets, Values on the Line: A Catholic School and Its Partner Step Up
Students already had AI in their hands. The question wasn't whether to address it — it was whether the school's values would show up in how they did. Here's how one Catholic school decided not to look away.
From AI Training to AI Policy: The K–12 Whac-a-Mole Problem
Have you ever played whac-a-mole? The game used to be a mainstay of arcades and boardwalks. One mole pops its head up. You strike it with a mallet, which sends it underground. But as soon as it disappears, a different mole pops up somewhere else on the gameboard. Repeat until time runs out on the game. AI in schools is a whac-a-mole problem.
Who Is Gen AIC? Understanding the Students Growing Up With AI, COVID, and Educational Disruption
According to conventional wisdom, students currently in high school are part of Gen Z or Gen Alpha. Gen Z, as in “Zoomers,” because many experienced school on Zoom during the COVID pandemic. Gen Alpha, as in “alpha,” because they are the first generation born entirely in the 21st century. I see them as Gen AIC, because they are coming of age amidst the two great paradigm shifts in school: AI and COVID.
RAIL in Action: How Bahrain Bayan School Built Human‑Led, AI‑Informed Systems
In an international context, the pressure to adopt AI fast is real. Bahrain Bayan School chose a different path — building systems where humans lead and AI informs, not the other way around.
How Do You Honor your Identity in a Rapidly Changing World?
It’s hard enough to prepare young people for an AI-shaped future. But how do you do that while preserving their identity?What about strengthening that identity? Those are the stakes at Bahrain Bayan School, where most students are Bahraini and every decision about curriculum, technology, and student support is a decision about the country’s future. With AI advancing at an exponential rate, Bayan sought a solution in the Middle States Responsible AI in Learning (RAIL) endorsement in AI Literacy, Safety & Ethics. The end result? Bayan amplified their core identity using the endorsement’s implementation framework, called the Pace Layer Model.
The “Both / And” of AI in Education
Dan Meyer, who is something of an AI Cassandra, has consistently said that students want to learn with and from people who show those students that their thinking matters. AI cannot show a student that their thinking matters. AI can only simulate that kind of feedback.
The EU AI Act Is Here: What Schools Must Do Now
While the White House's new AI Executive Order is making headlines, school leaders in the EU need to pay close attention to what's already in motion: the EU AI Act. Adopted in June 2024 and now entering into force, this landmark legislation formally recognizes schools as deployers of AI systems under Article 29—and that comes with real responsibility.
The Coming AI Tsunami
Have you been struggling to keep up with the constant updates, upgrades, and announcements about AI? Had you sort of checked out, because it had all become too much? There is a tsunami coming. Last week, the White House issued an Executive Order which articulates a significant federal commitment to AI literacy and education in the American K12 system.
Empowering Educators: 5 Must-Have AI Tools for Teachers in 2025
For teachers, gen AI presents a unique opportunity to personalize learning, get efficient and automate tasks, and enhance student thinking and engagement. Over the past year and a half, MSA has fervently championed the power of AI in education.
On DeepSeek and an Educational Red Flag
Whether it is DeepSeek “extinguishing” facts or ChatGPT providing sycophantic replies or any LLM providing the most likely (ie, “average”) response to a query, educators must develop strong AI literacy.
Why AI and What Is Middle States Doing About It?
Thirty years ago, many of my classmates reacted to the idea of co-existing with AI with a, “Yeah right.” Some of us reacted with, “What if…?” Today, we all have to ask, “What now?”