On November 5, teams from seven Indiana school systems met in Indianapolis and spent part of the day testing each other's work. Each team brought a custom, district-aligned AI tool it was building to solve a problem in its own schools, and each got to try another’s app and ask questions - not only about their specific project, but more broadly about what it will take to build AI readiness among their students, teachers, families, and staff.
The gathering was the midpoint of the Indiana cohort of Playlab’s AI Ecosystems Project, a yearlong effort. aiEDU is proud to be a Playlab partner in Indiana for this effort which launched together in April. These tools are built on Playlab's platform, and all participants receive custom professional learning support for districts, teachers, and students - as well as implementation support to ensure that these tools are useful.
There are seven school systems currently in the Indiana cohort:
Center Grove Community School Corporation
Christel House Indianapolis
Jac-Cen-Del Community School Corporation
Lake Central School Corporation
Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township
Northwest Indiana Lighthouse Charter Schools
Valparaiso Community Schools
What the school systems are building
Districts were invited to participate in this project to build their AI agency and facilitation capacity. The projects vary as much as the school systems do. Some help teachers plan lessons grounded in their district's approved curriculum, while others work to streamline central office functions. Some build tools to answer families' questions and a few are beginning to reach constituents directly.
Here are some examples of tools participants are building:
CoPlanners (Jac-Cen-Del, Lake Central, Center Grove): Lesson-planning assistants grounded in each district’s own curriculum. Teachers get planning support that reflects what their district teaches, so they spend less time on prep and the plans stay aligned to local standards and materials.
Indiana Graduation Pathway Navigator (Christel House Indianapolis): Helps students and the staff who advise them understand Indiana’s graduation pathways and plan how to meet them.
PD/PLC App (Northwest Indiana Lighthouse Charter Schools): Supports the planning and facilitation of professional development and professional learning communities, so school leaders and teacher teams can run more focused, consistent sessions.
Course Writer (Wayne Township): Helps educators draft and develop course materials, so teachers and curriculum teams can build courses faster without starting from a blank page.
aiEDU’s role is to build system-wide AI Readiness
A new tool only helps if the system around it is ready. aiEDU's role in this effort is to build system-wide AI Readiness through clear strategic support work.
As part of their participation in the Playlab project, each school system in the cohort can choose a complimentary service from aiEDU, including strategic advising, teacher professional learning or a district readiness assessment. So far, most districts have chosen strategic advising on AI policy and system guidance.
For other teams, the starting point is teacher professional learning: thinking about why AI Readiness matters, and how educators can strengthen their own practice before AI tools reach more classrooms.
"This cohort has charter networks and traditional districts, rural and urban, large and small," said Kristen Kayser, Senior Lead for Midwest Programs at aiEDU, who leads our work in Indiana. "They came from different parts of the state, and they still saw connections in each other's work. One team's idea would spark another's. It's great to see how far they've come since we launched in April."
“This cohort-based approach is powerful because the folks who are building these tools are school and district leaders who are closest to student needs,” said Alex Kotran, CEO & Founder of aiEDU. “We’re proud to partner with Playlab and Google.org to help these districts build things that solve their unique challenges and advance student learning.”
Districts measure success in a variety of ways
The cohort will continue its work through the school year and come together again in spring 2027 to share what each team built and learned. Each district has their own goals and the project outcomes will align to those priorities. Depending on their focus area, districts are working on outcomes like:
Strengthening educator and leader AI literacy through hands-on workshops, PLCs, and strategic coaching
Strategically deploying custom AI tools to improve teaching, learning, and school operations
Building student AI literacy through authentic, project-based experiences connected to real-world challenges
Bring this work to your district
aiEDU's strategic advising and professional learning are available to school systems beyond this cohort. If you lead a district or charter network and want to talk through AI policy, guidance or educator readiness, please connect with our team! And if you work in the Midwest, please reach out to Kristen Kayser at kristen at aiedu.org.
About aiEDU
The AI Education Project (aiEDU) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit devoted to making sure that all students are ready to live, work, and thrive in a world where AI is everywhere. We are translators between the bleeding edge of AI development and educators across the country. We push the field toward a coherent and shared vision of what “AI readiness” means, and the implications for system transformation.
About PlayLab
Playlab (Playlab.ai) is a 501(c)(3) tech nonprofit organization and no-code AI platform designed for educators, students, administrators, and impact organizations. They are working toward a future where educators and students around the world have the agency to not just use AI, but to shape it. On their terms.
