In the field of public education, every minute matters. If you asked a principal if they were able to finish their to-do list for a given day, I’m certain that most would often respond with an exhausted “not even close!”
How can they? Between balancing instruction and safety, managing the endless stream of unexpected crises, and communicating with staff, parents, and students who have urgent needs, it’s very challenging for principals to find time for “principaling.”
A new “partner” has appeared to help principals juggle their many priorities: artificial intelligence. While AI cannot replace the human element needed to engage students and staff, it can free up more time for principals to focus on what matters most: relationship building.
In this biweekly column, principals and other authorities on school leadership—including researchers, education professors, district administrators, and assistant principals—offer timely and timeless advice for their peers.
The following are some quick yet practical ways that AI has helped me carve out more time in my days for students and teachers:
Spice up faculty meetings
I sometimes dread faculty meetings as much as many teachers do but for different reasons. I do my best to avoid having boring faculty meetings. I know if I am feeling bored, my staff must be feeling the same.
Over the past decade as a principal, I have tried nearly every strategy I have read or heard about: icebreakers, small-group discussions, incorporating videos.
Using AI to help brainstorm new strategies has given me fresh ideas to keep the faculty meeting experience engaging. For instance, my new “partner” inspired me to incorporate staff and student recognitions, invite brief student performances, and encourage teachers to share strategies that their colleagues could learn and use the next day.
On separate months, we have since featured 2-3 minute performances from students in our band, basketball team, and theater programs. These performances remind us that we are helping real students succeed, not just following a policy for the sake of the policy.
Analyze surveys and draft permission forms
At the recommendation of one of my students, I recently created a new principal feedback forum for students. This group meets monthly to share suggestions and help implement approved ideas that enhance our school culture. As part of the selection process, applicants were asked to respond to a two-question survey. With nearly 25 students submitting thoughtful, detailed responses, it would have taken me several hours to read, compare, and evaluate them on my own. AI completed that task in under 30 seconds.
The time saved allowed me to spend an extra half hour observing a classroom, another half hour in the cafeteria connecting with students during lunch, and additional time dropping in on a teacher planning session.
I also used AI to draft a clear, professional parent-permission form that I could personalize and refine for students participating in the forum.
Brainstorm interview questions
Hiring the best staff is arguably one of the most important responsibilities a principal carries. I often use AI to help generate targeted, competency-based interview questions aligned to the skills and values I’m seeking in a new team member. With just a brief description of the role, AI can produce a wide range of questions that assess instructional design, classroom management, collaboration, and more.
I’ve learned that word choice matters greatly when designing tools like interview questions. For example, there is a significant difference in the quality and depth of the responses between requesting “teacher interview questions” and asking for “questions to identify an elite English teacher who prioritizes student learning.”
In moments like these, AI serves as a valuable thought partner—an important resource for a job where we often feel like we’re working in isolation.
Identify bite-size knowledge to start the day
Finally, I use AI to find inspirational quotes that I can read to my students during our morning announcements—an activity that could otherwise have been quite time consuming. I review the responses for accuracy, appropriateness, and tone to ensure they align with the goals for our school’s culture. I change the theme of these quotes weekly.
One week, I might focus on good citizenship, the next on overcoming challenging experiences. I’ve learned the art of tailoring my writing prompts to match the variety of the ages of students in my school.
For instance, when I originally asked for inspirational jokes to motivate high school students to have a good day, the list I received had the quote but no further elaboration. I expanded my request to include a one-sentence reflection after each quote to encourage students to apply this thought to their lives.
The result? Numerous students and staff have shared how much they enjoy starting the day with a positive thought to reflect on.
Overall, the time I have saved doing these tasks has allowed me to have more interactions with students, conduct classroom conversations, and participate in meetings with teachers.
My advice is to only use AI for tasks that don’t undermine relationships with other people. For example, teachers might use it to spark ideas for incorporating physical movement into a lesson; however, they shouldn’t use it to grade an essay. (AI would only be capable of applying specific grading guidelines to a submitted paper, not how to look for growth from the last essay and personalize feedback for each student the way a real teacher can.)
For those of you who are nervous that AI will take over our jobs, I’ll share a quote I heard from an AI training session I attended two years ago. “AI won’t replace you as principals; however, you will be replaced by principals who effectively use AI.” AI is a powerful tool that can help improve the culture of our schools, if wielded correctly.
What can’t it do? It can’t create human moments of connection, where principals, teachers, and students can enjoy being together.
