Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are investing millions to train teachers how to use AI

KCRA THREE AT 11. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE CLASSROOM. THERE’S DEBATE OVER HOW TEACHERS AND STUDENTS SHOULD USE AI, OR SHOULD IT BE USED AT ALL. A NEW, NEW PRIVATE SCHOOL COMING TO FOLSOM IS EMBRACING THE TECHNOLOGY. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FINALLY ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE THAT 1 TO 1 EXPERIENCE FOR EVERY SINGLE KID. ALL RIGHT, SO STUDENTS WILL SPEND TIME IN THE CLASSROOM, BUT HOW THEY DO IT WILL BE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. KCRA 3’S ANDRES VALLE JOINS US IN THE NEWSROOM. SO, ANDRES, HOW DOES ALL OF THIS WORK? WELL, IT’S CALLED ALPHA SCHOOL AND IT OFFERS AN AI DRIVEN EDUCATION. BUT THIS FALL, FOLSOM WILL BE HOME TO THE SCHOOL’S FIRST FOUR CAMPUSES IN CALIFORNIA. NOW, UNLIKE TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS, STUDENTS WILL HAVE A PERSONALIZED LEARNING STRUCTURE DESIGNED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. WHAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS ENABLED US TO DO IS TURN THE TEACHER IN FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM MODEL ON ITS HEAD, AND NOW KIDS CAN BE LEARNING AT THEIR PACE AND THEIR LEVEL. I LEARNED IT AT SCHOOL AND THAT IS THE REASON THESE PARENTS ARE INTERESTED. THE NEW ALPHA SCHOOL OPENING IN FOLSOM THIS FALL WILL USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO TEACH STUDENTS. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS REALLY ENABLING US TO RAISE HUMAN INTELLIGENCE BY MEETING EVERY KID WHERE THEY’RE AT ACADEMICALLY AND HELPING THEM EXCEL. MACKENZIE PRICE CO-FOUNDED THIS AI DRIVEN SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TWO HOURS OF THE DAY, STUDENTS WILL USE COMPUTERS AND AI TO LEARN TRADITIONAL SUBJECTS, BUT AT THEIR OWN PACE. THE TRADITIONAL TEACHER IN FRONT OF A CLASSROOM MODEL OF EDUCATION IS VERY INEFFICIENT. IT’S VERY SLOW AND TEDIOUS BECAUSE KIDS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY’RE AT, ARE BEING DELIVERED CONTENT AT THE SAME PACE. THAT’S WHY TUSI IS EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO EDUCATION FOR HER CHILD, WHO HAS AN ATTENTION SPAN FOR EIGHT HOURS OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING A DAY. AND THAT’S WHAT WE EXPECT A FIVE YEAR OLD TO DO, WHICH IS, I THINK, A LITTLE BIT CRAZY TO ME. ADRIENNE BRINGING QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS TO AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING ABOUT THE SCHOOL. I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT WORRY BECAUSE IT FEELS INAUTHENTIC TO LEARN THAT WAY. BUT THAT’S THE WORLD WE’RE LIVING IN. AND I THINK IF WE DON’T LEARN HOW TO USE THOSE TOOLS, IF WE DON’T LEARN HOW TO LEARN WITH THOSE TOOLS, WE’RE GOING TO FALL BEHIND. AND WHILE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING THROUGH AI, PRICE SAYS THERE ARE STILL TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM TEACHING THEM LIFE SKILLS AND MOTIVATING THEM. THE REST OF THE SCHOOL DAY IS SPENT DOING LIFE SKILLS WORKSHOPS, AND SO THE MAJORITY OF THE SCHOOL DAY IS FREED UP FOR KIDS TO BE ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE BIKE RACES AND TRIATHLONS AND START LITTLE BUSINESSES, ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT TEAMWORK CHALLENGES. IF I PRACTICE SO ALPHA SCHOOL HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 2014 WITH SCHOOLS IN TEXAS AND FLORIDA NOW TUITION TO ATTEND THE NEW SCHOOL IN FOLSO

Updated: 10:56 AM CDT Jul 13, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are investing millions to train teachers how to use AI

Updated: 10:56 AM CDT Jul 13, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

A group of leading tech companies is teaming up with two teachers' unions to train 400,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in artificial intelligence over the next five years.Video above: New AI-driven school in California aims to transform educationThe National Academy of AI Instruction, announced on Tuesday, is a $23 million initiative backed by Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, the national American Federation of Teachers and New York-based United Federation of Teachers. As part of the effort, the group says it will develop AI training curriculum for teachers that can be distributed online and at an in-person campus in New York City.The announcement comes as schools, teachers and parents grapple with whether and how AI should be used in the classroom. Educators want to make sure students know how to use a technology that's already transforming workplaces, while teachers can use AI to automate some tasks and spend more time engaging with students. But AI also raises ethical and practical questions, which often boil down to: If kids use AI to assist with schoolwork and teachers use AI to help with lesson planning or grading papers, where is the line between advancing student learning versus hindering it?Some schools have prohibited the use of AI in classrooms, while others have embraced it. In New York City, the education department banned the use of ChatGPT from school devices and networks in 2023, before reversing course months later and developing an AI policy lab to explore the technology's potential.The new academy hopes to create a national model for how schools and teachers can integrate AI into their curriculum and teaching processes, without adding to the administrative work that so often burdens educators."AI holds tremendous promise but huge challenges—and it's our job as educators to make sure AI serves our students and society, not the other way around," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "The academy is a place where educators and school staff will learn about AI—not just how it works, but how to use it wisely, safely and ethically."The program will include workshops, online courses and in-person trainings designed by AI experts and educators, and instruction will begin this fall. Microsoft is set to invest $12.5 million in the training effort over the next five years, and OpenAI will contribute $10 million — $2 million of which will be in in-kind resources such as computing access. Anthropic plans to invest $500 million in the project's first year and may spend more over time.The tech companies involved also stand to benefit by gaining feedback from teachers and potentially getting their AI tools in the hands of educators and students around the country. Similar educational partnerships have been a boon to tech companies in the past — Google Chromebooks, for example, are widely used in part because of their popularity in classrooms.Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer at OpenAI, told CNN at the program's launch event in New York City on Tuesday that the trainings will be a mix of general information on how AI systems work and specific instruction on tools from Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic. There's also potential for new AI products to be developed by or in partnership with the teachers."How can we make sure that, in the K-12 context, that we're equipping those kids, those students, with the skills that they're going to need to be able to succeed in what we think of as the intelligence age?" Lehane said during the event. "And you can't do that unless it's actually given to the teachers to do that work."

CNN —

A group of leading tech companies is teaming up with two teachers' unions to train 400,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in artificial intelligence over the next five years.

Video above: New AI-driven school in California aims to transform education

The National Academy of AI Instruction, announced on Tuesday, is a $23 million initiative backed by Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, the national American Federation of Teachers and New York-based United Federation of Teachers. As part of the effort, the group says it will develop AI training curriculum for teachers that can be distributed online and at an in-person campus in New York City.

The announcement comes as schools, teachers and parents grapple with whether and how AI should be used in the classroom. Educators want to make sure students know how to use a technology that's already transforming workplaces, while teachers can use AI to automate some tasks and spend more time engaging with students. But AI also raises ethical and practical questions, which often boil down to: If kids use AI to assist with schoolwork and teachers use AI to help with lesson planning or grading papers, where is the line between advancing student learning versus hindering it?

Some schools have prohibited the use of AI in classrooms, while others have . In New York City, the education department from school devices and networks in 2023, before months later and developing an AI policy lab to explore the technology's potential.

The new academy hopes to create a national model for how schools and teachers can integrate AI into their curriculum and teaching processes, without adding to the administrative work that so often burdens educators.

"AI holds tremendous promise but huge challenges—and it's our job as educators to make sure AI serves our students and society, not the other way around," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. "The academy is a place where educators and school staff will learn about AI—not just how it works, but how to use it wisely, safely and ethically."

The program will include workshops, online courses and in-person trainings designed by AI experts and educators, and instruction will begin this fall. Microsoft is set to invest $12.5 million in the training effort over the next five years, and OpenAI will contribute $10 million — $2 million of which will be in in-kind resources such as computing access. Anthropic plans to invest $500 million in the project's first year and may spend more over time.

The tech companies involved also stand to benefit by gaining feedback from teachers and potentially getting their AI tools in the hands of educators and students around the country. Similar educational partnerships have been a boon to tech companies in the past — Google Chromebooks, for example, are widely used in part because of their popularity in classrooms.

Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer at OpenAI, told CNN at the program's launch event in New York City on Tuesday that the trainings will be a mix of general information on how AI systems work and specific instruction on tools from Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic. There's also potential for new AI products to be developed by or in partnership with the teachers.

"How can we make sure that, in the K-12 context, that we're equipping those kids, those students, with the skills that they're going to need to be able to succeed in what we think of as the intelligence age?" Lehane said during the event. "And you can't do that unless it's actually given to the teachers to do that work."

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