Please fill out the form below to receive more information about the URI AI Leadership Lab.
Generative AI is transforming how schools operate, collaborate, and lead. The URI AI Leadership Lab was designed by school leaders, for school leaders, to help you navigate that shift with knowledge, strategy, and confidence.
This is not a tools training or an AI literacy course. It is a leadership program, designed to build the judgement, strategy, and confidence that principals and assistant principals need to lead AI adoption in their buildings, translate guidance into practice, and support the teachers and students in their care.
All sessions align with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL).
Two cohorts are available â Summer 2026 and Fall 2026.
Details for each are below.
Who Should Attend
Principals and assistant principals occupy a unique position in school organizations, accountable to district strategic goals while remaining deeply connected to the teachers and students doing daily work. That position comes with real pressure as AI moves faster than most guidance can keep up with.
Leading AI from a school leadership position requires more than awareness. It requires agency- the confidence to ask good questions, make informed decisions, and translate guidance coming from the outside into an approach you can stand behind: “This works in our building, and here is how we know.”
This program was specifically designed with you in mind.
What to Expect
- Ten weeks of structured learning: one self-directed asynchronous week exploring a curated set of AI literacy resources, followed by six live, interactive sessions with your cohort.
- Two individual coaching sessions with program facilitators to connect the learning directly to your school context and leadership goals.
- Practical strategies and learning experiences grounded in real AI implementation in schools.
- A culminating leadership project connecting your learning directly to an AI challenge or opportunity in your school or district, presented during the final session.
What You Will Explore
- Curated AI Literacy Resources (self-paced, asynchronous)
- Session 1: A Holistic Approach to Academic Integrity
- Session 2: Demystifying AI Governance
- Session 3: Engaging Your Community
- Session 4: Designing for Equity
- Session 5: Building Capability in Others
- Session 6: Celebration of Learning: Evaluate, Improve, Sustain
Learning Outcomes
- Make informed, ethical, and equitable decisions about the AI in your school and be able to explain your reasoning to the community.
- Lead a culture of academic integrity and AI governance with concrete strategies you develop for your specific context.
- Emerge with a local AI program designed, refined, and ready to implement in your building.
- Lead with greater confidence and clarity as AI continues to reshape what school leadership requires.
Professional Learning Units
Upon successful completion of the URI AI Leadership Lab, participants will receive 20 Professional Learning Units (PLUs) applicable toward educator recertification.
Schedule
Summer 2026 (July 20 – September 22)
Asynchronous Sessions/Coaching: Opens 7/21
Virtual Synchronous Sessions: July 28; August 4, 11, 18; September 8, 22
*No sessions during the first week of school
Day & Time: Tuesdays, 4:00-5:30pm
Registration closes: July 15, 2026
Investment: $950
Fall 2026 (September – December 5)
Asynchronous Sessions/Coaching: Opens 9/26
Virtual Synchronous Sessions: October 3, 17, 31; November 7, 14; December 5
Day & Time: Saturdays, 8:30â10:00 AM
Registration closes: September 22, 2026
Investment: $950
Facilitators
Julie Foss
Founder and Principal Consultant at True Nexus Consulting LLC
True Nexus Consulting specializes in helping organizations build AI governance cultures, implementation readiness, and change management capacity as they navigate AI adoption. Julie brings over 20 years of education experience as a teacher, administrator, change management coach & consultant. Julie holds degrees in Sociology, International Relations, and Educational Leadership, is a certified AI Governance Officer, and an affiliate partner of Kompass Education.
Publishing credits include “Becoming the Force for Innovation: How Educators Can Harness the Impact of COVID-19 to Transform Education” (IGI-Global, 2022).
Dan Kelley
Associate Teaching Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy at the University of Rhode Island and Founder of DPK Solutions LLC
Kelley is an Associate Teaching Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy at the University of Rhode Island and founder of DPK Solutions LLC, where he coaches and mentors school leaders.
A former high school principal and Past President of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (2017â18), Dan brings more than 20 years of experience in Kâ12 leadership, mentoring, and organizational change.
His current work focuses on preparing future educational leaders and exploring how principals make sense of AI in their daily practice.