What happens when a former curriculum director becomes an AI strategist for an entire state? You get the kind of zoomed-out view most of us in education never get to see.

In this episode, I welcome back my good friend Karle Delo, AI Strategist at Michigan Virtual, for a real conversation about what's actually working in school districts, what's flopping, and what the secret AI culture in your building probably looks like right now.

Karle works with districts across Michigan, helping them build AI guidance, professional learning, and integration plans. She's seen the speedboats, the tugboats, and the anchors. And she's not here to sell you on hype.

We get into:
→ Why one-and-done AI PD is setting your district up to fail
→ The "shadow AI" problem and why pretending it doesn't exist makes it worse
→ Why students say AI feedback from teachers feels like a slap in the face
→ The AI-slop cycle, where teachers, students, and graders are all just feeding the machine
→ The three things every school leader needs to read on a billboard
→ Why your authentic voice matters more in 2026 than it ever has
→ The one question to ask students that will change how you think about AI in your school

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Sponsors
00:56 Meet Carly the AI Strategist
07:24 District AI Guidance and Onboarding
17:51 Why AI Efforts Succeed or Fail
27:05 Avoiding AI Mistakes
30:39 Spotting AI Slop
36:16 What Students Want
47:55 Kryptonite and Wrap Up

If you're a superintendent, CTO, instructional coach, or classroom teacher trying to figure out where to start, where to slow down, or where you might already be off track, this episode is for you.

Karle reminds us that you don't need every teacher to be an AI super user. You don't need 20 tools. You need a strategy. You need community. And you need to actually talk to your students.

This is the kind of conversation that cuts through the noise and gives you something you can take back to your building on Monday.

🎙️ Connect with Karle:
Social media: @CoachKarle
Free resources from Michigan Virtual: michiganvirtual.org/ai
Includes a student guide, teacher guide, admin guide, integration framework, and AI literacy videos for middle and high school students.

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