The Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is awarding nine grants to school districts, charter schools, and other education organizations to develop artificial intelligence innovation in the classroom.¶
The organization, which advocates for student-first legislation and education policies, announced the AI Innovation Fund grant recipients during last month’s AI Symposium on K-12 Education. SCORE is investing a total of $450,000 in these AI pilot programs designed to “strengthen teaching, learning, and student success across Tennessee,” according to a release.¶
The Grant
The AI Innovation Fund grant supports Tennessee schools and organizations as they test new ways to address challenges facing students and educators. Over the next 12 months, the recipients will pilot projects in areas such as instruction, student advising and career planning, AI literacy, and educator support. Each project targets a specific need, providing insights into what strategies work and how to implement them effectively.¶
“We had 75 applicants to this AI Innovation Fund: educators from school districts, from higher ed institutions, from student support organizations, and so many things were true about these applicants,” SCORE Senior Vice President of Strategy Mary Cypress Metz said while introducing the grant winners. “I'm excited to share these nine with you that we believe have (a) real opportunity to provide lessons learned that we can take into the field over the next year.”¶
The Recipients
Three grant recipients are focused on developing solutions that advance students’ career pathways, planning, and student advising. These include Sullivan County Schools, tnAchieves, and the University High School in partnership with the University of Memphis.¶
Three other grant recipients plan to focus on K-12 instruction in early literacy, numeracy support, and student writing, and other support. They include PIVOT: School Improvement Leaders, in partnership with Knox County Schools and Vine Middle Magnet School; M3 Project, in partnership with EnlightenAI, Leadership Preparatory Charter School, Libertas School of Memphis, and Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School; and the Promise Academy public charter school.¶
Two school district partnerships plan to focus on district-wide implementation of AI adoption, literacy, and capacity.They include a Metro Nashville Public Schools partnership with AI for Education and a Kingsport City Schools partnership with East Tennessee State University.¶
The final recipient, Horizon Academies, in partnership with Valor Collegiate Academies, proposed a pilot to launch an AI-enabled student support tool.¶
Valor Collegiate Academy Executive Director of Innovation Daren Dickson spoke during the symposium’s closing panel.¶
“Our community, like I'm guessing all the communities here, is pretty split, and there's just a lot of complicating factors in terms of how people feel about the arrival of AI,” Dickson said. “So, having students, and families, and teachers, and leaders all grappling together, (we developed) our policy and our norms around AI use together.”¶
SCORE will also provide support and opportunities for the recipients to learn alongside peers across Tennessee, as well as share lessons, findings, and insights from the projects to help educators better understand AI usage.¶
More information about the symposium and the AI Innovation Fund can be found here.¶
