Can AI pass this test? School districts launch projects supported by Microsoft and Gates Foundation – GeekWire

REDMOND, Wash.- For more than three years, much of the focus on AI in education has been on the implications of giving students the value of technical cheat code.

But what if this disruptive force could be used to improve education instead?

That’s the idea behind an effort now underway in Washington state. Last week, school districts gathered at Microsoft in Redmond for the start of a two-year “community of practice” focused on AI in education. More than 150 teachers and administrators filled the room.

This event included two programs. Microsoft’s Elevate Washington initiative, announced last October, awarded $75,000 in grants to 10 states to plan and implement AI projects. The Gates Foundation is funding a diverse group of 10 regions focused on AI infrastructure and data systems.

Microsoft Elevate grants also include up to $25,000 in technical consulting funding. Districts are expected to share what they learn with the rest of the district.

The focus is on practical applications, such as AI-enabled teaching in Bellevue, K-12 literacy frameworks in Highline and Quincy, and chatbots for students and families in Kennewick.

IEPs in Issaquah

At Issaquah, the goal is to use AI to help special education students manage the psychological burden of moving from teacher to teacher through an individualized education plan (IEP).

This project was inspired by listening sessions with high school students receiving special education services. It can be stressful and burdensome for students to explain their needs to each new teacher, making sure their accommodations and goals are met.

Dr. Sharine Carver, the district’s executive director of special services, said the goal is to “empower students, reduce that psychological burden and put them in the driver’s seat to really understand their IEP and be able to speak for themselves.”

Diana Eggers, the district’s director of educational technology, said the IEP project is unique because it goes beyond looking for efficiency in existing jobs to replace it with AI for a new purpose.

“How can we use AI to reinvent what we do?” Eggers said. “We’re not there yet, but we need to figure out how to do that.”

The ‘unreal’ speed of change

All states are going through the unknown in one way or another. Jane Broom, executive director of Microsoft Philanthropies, who grew up in public schools in Washington, told the group that they are on the front lines of an unprecedented revolution.

“This is the fastest change I’ve ever seen, and this company is one that’s always changing,” he said. “The last two or three years haven’t really been there.”

The 10 Microsoft grants range from Seattle, the state’s largest district with about 49,000 students, to Manson, a rural district in Chelan County with about 700 students. Overall, grant providers serve about 17 percent of Washington’s K-12 students.

Broom pointed to a large gap in AI adoption across the region, with more than 30% of working-age people using AI in the Seattle region versus less than 10% in other rural areas. Microsoft highlighted this divide when it introduced the Elevate program last fall.

The first stages of understanding

Thursday morning’s opening session came with an additional reality check: A national study presented at the event showed that even the most ambitious districts are just getting started, and are struggling to answer the basic question: does any of this really work?

Bree Dusseault, principal and executive director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, presented findings from a national survey of charter school districts. His team surveyed 119 programs (with 45 responses), interviewed 14-year-old leaders, and identified 79 for regional data that are driving AI adoption.

The picture that emerged was mixed. Regions have moved quickly to set up infrastructure, but major gaps remain:

The infrastructure is very much there. More than 80% of the districts in the national survey have technical infrastructure such as equipment and broadband. About two-thirds have data privacy protocols and dedicated AI staff. Six out of 10 have a formal AI policy.

Testing is way behind. Only 24% of the states surveyed have any system in place to measure whether their AI efforts are working. Only 9% have updated learning standards to reflect new student skills.

The work is mainly focused on teachers. All of the districts that have just begun the study are training teachers and certifying them to use AI. Less than half offer any training to students. Only 16% involved parents or families.

The students are now traveling alone. A separate RAND/CRPE survey from September 2025 found that 54% of students use AI in school work. For high school students, 61%. But only 19% reported receiving any instructions on how to use them.

Most early adopters aren’t using AI to rethink education. About two-thirds of these districts use it to do what they already do successfully. Another 30% use it to support existing reform efforts. Only a few try anything new.

Addressing that last point is the idea of ​​AI programs that started last week. Districts in the Microsoft program will work on their projects for the next school year, until June 2027.