BOSTON - Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper launched the first cohort of BPS AI Educator Ambassadors following a Summer Institute held August 24–28. Twenty-five secondary school educators received training in innovative and responsible artificial intelligence practices and will lead AI learning projects in their schools.
The inaugural cohort is among the first district-wide AI educator ambassador programs in the nation and a core component of the BPS AI Literacy Initiative, a major public-private effort launched in March 2026 by Mayor Michelle Wu, Superintendent Skipper, Paul English and UMass Boston. The initiative brings together government, academia, and private industry to advance AI literacy across BPS, with the goal of ensuring students graduate prepared to understand and use AI responsibly. Technology and civic entrepreneur Paul English seeded the initiative with a $1 million gift. A portion of the funding supports initiative partners Day of AI and TWG Education Labs, which led the Summer Institute and will provide educators year-long support.
“Five months ago we launched a program for every Boston Public School student to graduate with the fluency and knowledge to thrive in an AI-enabled world,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “This past week, educators from every school across our district came together to put that goal into action–equipping teachers to use AI responsibly in the classroom and preparing students to navigate this technology with confidence, creativity and care. Thanks to Paul English and to our BPS educators for connecting our students to the skills and opportunities that will shape their future.”
Over five days, the Educator Ambassadors, representing 25 different BPS schools across nearly every subject area, worked alongside Day of AI, an AI curriculum and professional development organization originally incubated through MIT’s RAISE (“Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education”) initiative, along with the BPS Tech Digital Learning Team and Office of Teaching and Learning. The week moved deliberately from foundations to practice: teachers first examined how AI systems actually work, to understand their risks and opportunities, before turning to explore how AI tools could support their own classrooms.
Each Ambassador left the week with a defined Problem of Practice, a clear classroom challenge, from building student voice and confidence in discussions to strengthening feedback and engagement. Throughout the year, the AI Educator Ambassadors will develop and test these with their own students, with the work shared openly across the district by June.
“Preparing our students for the future means making sure our educators have the tools, knowledge, and support to prepare them for what’s ahead,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “AI is changing the way we learn, work, and live, and our educators play an important role in helping students understand and navigate those changes thoughtfully and responsibly. This initiative gives our teachers the opportunity to learn together, ask important questions, and bring new ideas back to their classrooms and school communities. We are excited to continue building on this work throughout the year and to learn from our educators as we work to ensure every BPS student has the knowledge and skills to navigate a rapidly changing technology landscape.”
Traci Walker Griffith, founder and CEO of TWG Education Labs and former Executive Director of the Eliot K-8 Innovation School, serves as the initiative's Project Lead. The work builds on AI integration already underway at the Eliot, where Walker Griffith and other educators have spent years developing AI-integrated instruction. It also draws on BPS's AI Fellows program, which piloted AI-enabled practices in schools and across the central office during the 2025–26 school year.
"The energy in the room this week was something to see," said Traci Walker Griffith, Project Lead for the BPS AI Literacy Initiative and Founder and CEO of TWG Education Labs. "Twenty-five teachers who came in ready, honest with each other about what we're all still learning, and already thinking about their students in September. That's exactly the right place to start. The year ahead is about making sure no one does this alone: monthly sessions, a real network across schools, and time to build things teachers can actually use. By June, we'll see students sharing what they've learned with us, and that's the part we can't wait for."
“The most important question for schools isn’t whether AI is coming - it is how we make sure educators and students have the knowledge and agency to shape what comes next,” said Jeff Riley, Executive Director of Day of AI and former Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education who opened the week with a keynote address. “Boston is approaching that challenge in exactly the right way: grounding the work in teaching and learning, emphasizing safety and productivity, and treating AI literacy as much more than learning how to use a particular tool.”
AI literacy fits within BPS's existing Vision of the Graduate, which calls for every student to leave high school career-ready, adaptable, and prepared for lifelong learning. Preparing students for the realities of a changing workforce isn't a new goal for the district, as it's already built into Mass Core and BPS's College & Career Pathways programming. AI is now part of what students need to understand and navigate well within that same commitment.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is developing a proposed Artificial Intelligence and Digital Literacy graduation requirement. Through the BPS Educator Ambassador Initiative, BPS is advancing that work now by giving educators a full year of hands-on experience integrating AI into classroom instruction, building practical knowledge that can inform a challenge districts across the Commonwealth will soon confront.
"This week helped me shift my perspective about AI from more skeptical and (honestly) pessimistic to a more cautious optimism," said Sophia Chen, English Language Arts Teacher at Margarita Muñiz Academy. "The district lessons, policies, conversations with Day of AI, students, industry leaders, and higher education leaders have shown me what intentional and impactful usage looks like and how much the technology can expand our existing capacities and help solve interesting problems."
"My biggest takeaway this week was the power of having a community of educators learning together, sharing ideas, and pushing each other’s thinking about AI," said Tara Correa, Humanities Teacher at Eliot Innovation School. "I’m leaving with new skills and a clearer understanding of how I can apply AI intentionally to support student learning. This school year, I’m excited to continue learning alongside other teachers while putting these ideas into practice in my classroom and leading my teams."
"My main takeaways are that: 1. The district is 100% committed to students and teachers learning about AI and encourages appropriate-use of the tools. 2. There is a great community of educators that gained a tremendous amount of AI proficiency this week. 3. The tools we learned about this week have direct relevance to our students' educational journey," said Ted Smith, Librarian at Madison Park Technical Vocational School.
The BPS AI Industry Advisory Board, co-chaired by Paul English and Ellen Rubin and formed by leadership from Boston Dynamics, HubSpot, PTC, Suno, Toast, Wayfair, and WHOOP, was a key partner of the Summer Institute. Board members engaged directly with AI Educator Ambassadors throughout the week, sharing industry insight and encouraging educators to explore the future of possibilities AI can create for students. The board will continue to advise ambassadors and review curriculum throughout the year, helping ensure BPS instruction aligns with the skills and expectations students will encounter after graduation.
"As co-chair of the Industry Advisory Board alongside Paul, my job starts in earnest now," said Ellen Rubin, Co-chair of the BPS AI Industry Advisory Board. "I've spent two decades building and scaling tech companies in this city, and this Board is a chance to put that experience directly to work for these Ambassadors and their students, connecting them to real AI expertise inside Boston's leading tech companies, with support and mentorship from board members all the way through to the Hackathon in June."
"I’m excited to see AI education move forward in this way," said Paul English, Co-chair of the BPS AI Industry Advisory Board. "As a BPS graduate myself, I know firsthand what this district can mean for a student’s future, and I’m glad to help make sure today’s students have the tools they need to shape theirs."
What's Ahead This Year
The Educator Ambassadors will continue meeting monthly through June as they pilot their classroom projects and develop lessons that will become open-source curriculum for the rest of the district. BPS is also developing 7–12 AI Literacy and Fluency Benchmarks so the district can measure what students are actually learning, not simply how many classrooms are participating. The year builds toward a district-wide Showcase and Hackathon next June, where students will present what they've built. Throughout the year, BPS will recruit next year's cohort of Ambassadors, with the goal of doubling their number, continuing to work with partners to expand the model district-wide.
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