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Academia María Reina (AMR), a Catholic girls' school in Puerto Rico, knew its students were already using AI on their phones long before adults had a plan for it. Teachers worried about cheating and the loss of "real" thinking. Students treated AI as a shortcut, something "there to do everything for you," as technology facilitator Anyelisa Mejías observed. Instead of waiting, AMR invited Forward Learning, a regional professional development and learning environment provider serving schools across Puerto Rico, to face AI head-on. They pursued two Middle States Association (MSA) Responsible AI in Learning (RAIL) endorsements as partners. 

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.

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.

When generative AI surged into schools, Bahrain Bayan School initially responded the way many did: with guidelines and one‑off trainings aimed at keeping pace with a fast‑moving technology.  Joining Middle States’ Responsible AI in Learning (RAIL) endorsement shifted that response from reactive to structured, helping the school design AI use that is human‑led, ethically grounded, and sustainable.

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.

In 2023, Choate Rosemary Hall, an independent boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, faced the challenge every school was grappling with: how to respond to generative AI. Like many schools, Choate had faculty across the spectrum. Some were experimenting enthusiastically. Others were deeply concerned. The easy path would have been to issue a quick policy and hope it settled things. Instead, they chose a different approach, one grounded in their mission, built on trust, and designed to bring everyone along.

In conversations with education leaders across the Middle States network, one question keeps coming up: “How do we embrace AI without sacrificing what makes learning deeply human?”

Globally, education leaders are grappling with similar AI readiness questions, as reflected in UNESCO’s comprehensive new anthology, AI and the Future of Education: Disruptions, Dilemmas and Directions (UNESCO, 2025).

Excel is pairing AI with competency checks so students can show what they know and get to the right next step. They will expand their in-course tutor and teacher-facing supports with the same closed-system guardrails. 

“AI will help students demonstrate competency and then challenge them in ways that fit their learning style” — Charlie Buehler Hoard, COO