AI Literacy Is a Workforce Requirement. Are K-12 Schools Ready?

What does AI literacy actually mean for K-12 students, and why are most school districts getting it wrong? Kristen Kayser, Senior Lead for the Midwest at aiEDU (AI Education Project), joins Jason Padgett to answer that question — and to explain why buying AI tools without a district-wide strategy creates more problems than it solves.

Key topics covered:

Why workforce leaders say AI literacy is a requirement for every student, not just future software engineersWhat AI literacy actually means: critical evaluation of outputs, not just knowing how to use appsIndiana's SAIL initiative, a credentialing program from the Central Indiana ESC that trains educators on AI pedagogy and AI as a technologyThe district AI strategy gap: why teachers get trained on tools but schools never define how AI should actually be usedWhat a real AI task force looks like, with parents, students, community members, and district leaders at the tableA real-world example of AI literacy in a high school student who switched from ChatGPT to Claude on her own and articulated why

If you work in education, ed-tech, workforce development, or you're a parent watching schools fumble AI policy, this episode will give you a clearer picture of what good looks like.

About Kristen Kayser: Senior Lead, Midwest at aiEDU | Former high school math teacher (9 years, Cleveland Heights High School) | Former principal and mastery learning specialist, Cleveland Metro | Former College Board state and district partnerships | Dayton, Ohio

Connect with Kristen Kayser: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-kayser/Learn more about aiEDU: https://aiedu.org

Work with Jason → jason@mycitizen.aiNewsletter → https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7399599285849346048

AGI Podcast shows:School's Out Saturdays: AI in education, K-12 through universityWeekly Blitz: AI news every Monday, 30-45 minutesData Bytes: Data literacy for business ownersThe Vibe: Deep conversations, no time limit

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Tools Jason recommends:MindStudio → https://get.mindstudio.ai/q7n7u5cttkdqRiverside.fm → https://riverside.sjv.io/e1xyBrWispr Flow → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgett