New Orleans educators are leading on AI in K-12.

About the Fund

How the New Orleans AI Education Fund works.

The New Orleans AI Education Fund accelerates academic gains across the city by helping educators and schools use AI thoughtfully, strategically, and in service of student learning. We see AI as a tool to help educators have their greatest impact, while never sacrificing the human connection that makes schools vibrant and nurturing institutions.

• Needs Before Tools. Charter leaders get clear about the instructional problem that shows up in their data before any tool is selected.
• Sharing Openly. The Fund looks for a track record of strong implementation and asks partners to share their learning as a condition of every grant.
• Build and Follow Evidence. Given the speed of AI's arrival, causal evidence for AI in K-12 is thin. We want to help build the evidence base so that schools in New Orleans and beyond use what works for students.

How the fund began

The New Orleans AI Education Fund launched in 2025 in response to requests from local educators and system leaders for help navigating AI in their schools. It is a time-bound effort, running on a five-year horizon from 2025 to 2029. We are grateful to our anchor funders, The Booth-Bricker Fund, New Schools for New Orleans, and Rosenthal Family Foundation, for their collaboration and support.

Leader Capacity-Building

Growing New Orleans leadership capacity around AI

In August 2025, we launched the inaugural New Orleans AI Leadership Cohort. Eight of our city's charter operators sent senior leaders to participate in structured, collaborative learning around AI. Collectively, these leaders support 60% of public school students citywide. We are grateful for our excellent partner, AI for Equity, for their facilitation.

Facilitated by

With support from our partners at AI for Equity, Cohort 1 systems selected enterprise platforms, launched AI Task Forces, amplified AI power users at the school and CMO level, clarified policy, and began integrating AI literacy into their instructional approach.

With a shared vision and foundation in place, these Cohort 1 partners are more ready for the challenges and opportunities with AI that lie ahead.

What's Next

Looking Ahead to 2026-27

Charter Leader Capacity-Building

We have two additional semester-long AI Leadership cohorts in 2026-27, supporting nearly 15 additional charter organizations across New Orleans. The cohorts provide leadership teams the space and structured learning to deepen their understanding of AI and begin to make strategic decisions about its role in their organization.

AI Tool Implementation

Building on the success of KIPP New Orleans' Implementation Grant, the AI Fund is supporting five additional projects in 2026-27.

Math: Identifying Tools that Get Results

New Orleans is a state and national leader in Math gains since 2019 (pre-COVID), but too many students still do not receive the support they need to master rigorous grade-level content. We have launched a landscape analysis to better understand the AI-powered solutions that are helping schools nationwide achieve measurable gains in student learning. As we curate a list of potential solutions, we will work with charter school partners to support pilots of tools that address their most significant gaps in Math at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Looking Even Further Ahead: New School Models?

Leading systems nationwide are beginning to redesign their school model to take advantage of the opportunities created by AI. We are in learning mode for this strategy, paying attention to efforts like Playlab's Lab School initiative and other innovative efforts. With New Orleans schools posting unprecedented academic results, school model redesign has to earn its place in our system. Planning grants are on the horizon for 2027 to help leading educators envision how to design schools that meet the needs of New Orleans students.