We built our study with two main components. First, we conducted a quantitative survey of central office leaders about their day-to-day AI use. Roughly 130 respondents—a statistically significant sample size—completed the survey. The bulk of our respondents were communications professionals, followed by superintendents and chief technology officers. Respondents hailed from a variety of district types and sizes across the country. (It is worth noting that individuals who self-selected for the survey may have a higher interest in AI than the average education professional.)

In addition to the quantitative survey, we also conducted qualitative interviews with a select group of education professionals—from administrators to technology leaders to communicators—who have worked extensively with AI in their districts. Many of our respondents are slated to present at AASA’s AI Super Summit in November 2025, a testament to their leadership in the field. Quotes from these interviews are woven throughout the broader study to lend the data deeper meaning and insights. 

Nearly two years ago, SchoolCEO partnered with NSPRA to conduct our first survey about AI use. We found that while 90% of participants—all school communicators—expressed some level of familiarity with ChatGPT and other AI tools, few were using it frequently at the time. Over a third of respondents reported using AI tools only “once a month” or “less than once a month,” clearly indicating that AI was not yet part of their day-to-day workflow. 

But in the two short years since that initial study, AI has exploded in popularity. In our most recent survey, 97% of respondents across various roles and district types reported having personally experimented with AI tools for their professional duties. With that experimentation comes newfound familiarity. A substantial portion of the respondents consider themselves "somewhat familiar" (47%) or "very familiar" (40%), with only 11% describing themselves as "neutral," and 2% reporting being “not very familiar.” What’s more, many users were able to cite specific, transformational use cases at work—suggesting that AI is not just a fad, but a technology with the power to stick around.

Who uses AI the most?

Among our respondents’ job types, communications professionals stand out with particularly high rates of AI use. But professionals of all roles at larger districts report using AI more frequently, being slightly more likely to describe themselves as "very familiar" with AI tools. This suggests that larger districts—being more resourced—may have access to more premium AI software, giving them an advantage when it comes to AI adoption. 

But how does age impact how respondents feel about AI? When asked about AI's future importance for school communication, the perceived significance was high across age groups—the average respondent selecting a “4” on a 5-point scale, 5 being “extremely important.” Actual usage varied only a little between age groups. There was a slight dip among older employees (those over 70 years old), while those between 35 and 45 years old reported the highest levels of AI use. Despite these slight variations, we believe the most important takeaway is this: Participants of all ages believe in the importance of AI for school communication.

What tools are most popular?

So, with nearly everyone we surveyed trying out AI, what are people actually reaching for in their digital toolbox? The survey gave us a peek, and a few names popped up again and again, giving us a sense of the go-to AI helpers in schools right now. Unsurprisingly, the big players like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude—which function as general assistants capable of churning out text on any topic—consistently rank as the most used tools across different roles and districts. Our analysis of tool usage by district type, for example, showed these models making up roughly 17%-20% of the tools respondents from all district types preferred in the study.

Beyond this, professionals were most likely to use AI features integrated into tools they’re already familiar with, such as Gmail or Canva. This could suggest some professionals don’t realize AI’s potential as a standalone tool, simply viewing it as a new facet of another tool they know and love. 

Tools built for specific purposes are also gaining steam. AI meeting notetakers are somewhat popular, pointing to the use of AI for streamlining administrative tasks. And reflecting the increasing importance of visual communication, image generation and manipulation tools also appeared in the mix, representing around 10% of mentions in our survey.  

Interestingly, certain roles lean more heavily on a wider array of AI tools. As we saw earlier, communications professionals reported using AI more frequently than other groups, but they also reported using a broader variety of tools compared to other roles. This suggests once again that comms pros are on the frontline of exploring AI's capabilities in their work.

Looking at how these tools are being applied to communication specifically, our responses show AI is used for a little bit of everything. School leaders and communicators are using AI to help with tasks ranging from drafting district-wide newsletters and parent emails to creating content for social media and district websites. They're also leveraging AI for language accessibility tasks like translations or closed captioning. 

Our respondents appear to be both enthusiastic about AI and practical in how they use it, seeking out ways to help themselves become more effective and efficient. They’re putting these tools to work responding to community concerns, drafting media inquiries and even personalizing messages for different groups—essentially, to make the complex jobs of school communication a little more manageable and hopefully, a little more impactful.

In the interview portion of our study, Cristina Capretta, director of marketing and community relations for Ohio’s Berea City School District, says she thinks of AI as a multiplier and extension of her work. “It frees up my time, and that is the thing I love most about it,” she says. “It’s giving me more time to focus on listening, empathy, and just building trust with stakeholders—all of the things that make us human in our work." 

What are the strongest use cases in school leadership and communication?

While AI use cases for teaching and learning abound, we focused this study on AI use in the central office rather than the classroom. We wanted to know: How can AI assist with operational tasks so that administrators and communicators can spend more time doing more impactful work? 

For instance, several years into his superintendency at New York’s Grand Island Central School District, Dr. Brian Graham realized its potential even for tasks beyond the classroom. As a former special educator, "my first thought was about students with special needs. I was so excited,” he says. “But then I started thinking about how we could use it at the central office too. One of the first things I did was create a custom GPT based on our employment contracts and employee handbook. I made it so that I can ask it questions and require answers to have a citation so that there’s no hallucination.” Where once Graham spent hours searching for nuanced answers relating to personnel issues, he now has a resource he can query in seconds. 

In our quantitative survey, we asked respondents, “What do you feel are the most promising applications for AI (even if you're not currently using AI for these purposes)?” The most frequently mentioned use cases include:

• Communications: Respondents frequently mentioned using AI to draft various forms of communication such as emails, newsletters, speeches, social media content, and general writing or messaging.

• Administrative Tasks: Respondents highlighted AI's potential for improving efficiency, automating routine tasks and streamlining clerical work.

• Time Saving: Many respondents saw AI as a tool to enhance productivity and save time.

• Student Support/Instruction: Applications related to supporting student learning, instruction, tutoring, and creating lesson plans were frequently mentioned.

• Data Analysis: This includes generating reports from data, gaining insights, identifying trends and performing general analytics.

• Accessibility: This refers to applications such as translation, language support and closed captioning.

When it comes to how people across age groups are using AI, we saw a few interesting differences. Notably, people between the ages of 41 and 60 mentioned using AI for specific communication tasks, such as drafting districtwide messages or creating social media content, more frequently than other groups. To a slightly lesser degree, younger professionals (those between the ages of 20 and 40) also reported significant engagement with AI tools for specific communication tasks.

As our survey suggests, there are myriad use cases for AI in school communication and administration. In our interviews, multiple leaders argued that any tedious task which takes them away from face-to-face work with students or staff might at least be partially automated with AI.

What concerns do school leaders have about AI?

Despite their enthusiasm about AI, most school leaders and communicators also have their concerns about this new technology. Over 60% of respondents cited data privacy and security as one of their biggest roadblocks. In an era where safeguarding sensitive student and staff information is a major challenge for school districts, it’s no surprise that the idea of feeding that data into third-party AI tools raised significant red flags. Many respondents also raised concerns about algorithmic bias and equity, underscoring that bias isn't just a technical glitch; it's an issue of ethics with real-world consequences for students and communities.

When faced with these challenges, Capretta is clear that she always aims to use AI thoughtfully—something she shares with administrators and community members who have concerns about its usage. “My aim is to do as little harm as possible,” she says. “And this means thinking carefully about every choice I make with AI to make sure it aligns with my values.” 

But it’s not just ethical concerns keeping districts from adopting AI on a wide scale; issues of leadership and clarity also play a role. Half of our respondents cited “lack of staff training and professional development” as one of their biggest challenges, while 38% listed “lack of clear policies and guidelines.” Nearly a third noted concern about “resistance from staff or community members,” while still others simply failed to see a clear problem AI could solve.

These are all challenges we’ll have to reckon with as AI continues to evolve—because the technology is not only here to stay, but will undoubtedly play an even bigger role in the future lives and careers of today’s students. For Dr. Kristin Deichler, assistant superintendent for Pennsylvania’s South Fayette Township School District, the prevalence and increasing importance of AI means that it must become a core function of her work as an educator. “Our kids are growing up in a world where AI is powering nearly everything,” Deichler says. “So we have to up our game as educators and leaders.”

It’s clear that people need guidance from leadership on how AI will impact their work going forward. And by leadership, we not only mean school administrators, but also those communicators who are likely in the vanguard of AI use in their districts. But how can you lead in a way that is both thoughtful and empowering? We’ve put together some suggestions from our research to help.

#1: Start with strategy—not tactics.

It can be tempting to adopt every promising AI tool at once—especially since many are free for educators. But adding new platforms and tools without any sense of priority or strategy dilutes AI’s potential—and likely outstrips your staff’s capacity for new learning. After all, while AI already feels comfortable for many communicators and educators, there are still many for whom it is brand-new. 

Dr. Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of Oregon's Beaverton School District, says that the biggest mistake he sees school administrators make is failing to think about what their districts want to get out of AI as a whole. “As a profession, we must think about how to use AI strategically and not just tactically,” he explains. 

So what do you want to accomplish with AI in your district? Are you trying to identify and automate tasks that are tedious for humans but easy for AI? Incorporate more data collection and analysis into how your district is run? Reshape how your district handles curriculum mapping? No matter your goal, it’s important to start by identifying a strategy rather than fixating on how AI can decrease the number of seemingly unrelated menial tasks. By starting with a goal and outlining a strategy to reach that goal, you’re also providing clarity to your organization about what you want to accomplish with AI—beyond simply making “less work.” 

#2: Build policies that provide answers.

For all the promise of AI, there are facets of the technology that warrant some hesitation, and it’s good to acknowledge these with transparency. While skepticism among teaching staff came up frequently in our interviews, the leaders we spoke to acknowledged that any form of change is bound to get pushback. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and I can tell you—change is hard in schools. Getting people to shift how they think and work is never easy,” says Kris Hagel, chief intelligence officer at Washington’s Peninsula School District. “A lot of it comes down to fear—and to the excuses people make because of that fear. With AI, you hear things like, What about privacy? What about copyright? What about the environment? And yes, those concerns are real, but they’re also being worked out—and they will continue to be. The problem is, the longer you drag your feet, the farther behind you fall, and catching up becomes even harder.” 

That’s why it’s so important to have clear policies around AI use. These types of policies keep everyone safe, and also provide a sense that you, as an AI leader, are aware of the downsides of the tools. A recent study by NSPRA found that while 91% of school communicators are using AI, 69% report their districts lack a formal policy for employee use. Unclear or even nonexistent policies create not only unnecessary risk but also frustration among skeptics, who may assume that their valid concerns about AI are being ignored.

#3: Make it fun and make it helpful. 

While new technology can be intimidating, it can also be fun. By encouraging experimentation and innovation, you can create an environment where teachers and staff can play with tools without pressure. Many of the educators we talked to emphasized the importance of giving educators structured but open-ended opportunities to play with new technologies in AI. While it’s important to meet people where they are, you also want to show them where they can go, modeling what’s possible with the new tool they have access to and how it fits into their existing workflows. 

To encourage staff to experiment with AI, Dr. Janeen Peretin, assistant to the superintendent at Pennsylvania’s Baldwin-Whitehall School District, suggests showing them how to use it in their personal lives. “People often talk about work-life balance,” she explains. “But that’s something we always seem to chase and never quite achieve. So how can you use AI in your personal life to unburden some of that load—whether it’s deciphering medical records, managing daily tasks or even planning a two-year-old’s birthday party?” Once staff members are comfortable with using it for their personal lives, Peretin believes that professional use will quickly follow. 

Emily Sanders, deputy superintendent at Hempfield Area School District in Pennsylvania, has clear guidelines for how she structures this type of professional development in her district. “We sometimes call it ‘sandbox time,’”Sanders explains. “It’s about letting them explore: talking with them, showing them a few tools, demonstrating how those tools can help in their classrooms and then giving them the space to experiment.”

Months before the initial launch of ChatGPT, Washington’s Peninsula School District released its first “Statement of Principles and Beliefs” on AI use—a document meant to guide the school system’s approach to the burgeoning technology. This statement, which is thousands of words long with substantial links and resources, includes one bolded sentence that encapsulates its overall purpose: “We view AI as a tool that can intensify the human element in education.”

At its core, education is and always will be a profoundly human endeavor. While AI can boost efficiency in your central office, it can never replace the personal connections at the heart of a successful school district. In both our survey and interviews, district leaders often described AI as a multiplier—a tool that gives them back the time and emotional bandwidth to focus on the work that matters most.

As AI evolves from a novelty to a necessity, districts that take this approach will be the ones that thrive. As you determine how and why your central office will use this new technology, ask yourself: What’s distracting us from our most important work, and how can AI help us refocus our energy on what matters? In the end, AI shouldn’t replace the human element in school leadership and communication; it should intensify it. The real innovation will come not from the technology itself—but from what school leaders can accomplish when technology clears the way.