A Head’s Perspective: Exploring The Power of Generative AI in Administrative Work

John Lewis
Head of The Gunston School

​In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, Generative AI has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing various aspects of our work as school leaders. As the head of The Gunston School, I knew that this year was the time for me to dive into Generative AI. In a short time, it has transformed my daily school leadership routine and provided valuable educational insights. 

During a recent discussion with my long-time colleague Bob Weiman, assistant head of school at St. Stephen's + St. Agnes School, and Sarah Hanawald, Senior Director of the Association for Academic Leaders, we delved into the practical applications and benefits of AI in education. Our conversation explored the balance between human expertise, judgment, and authenticity, with the appropriate integration of AI to enhance our work.

Here’s a thought experiment: this blog post was generated from the AI transcript of my discussion with Bob Weiman; Sarah Hanawald then took the transcript and asked it to create a blog post. Then it was sent to me, and I heavily edited it (which took about 40 minutes). Is this an appropriate and ethical use of AI? What if I hadn’t disclosed this to you? Can you tell which part is AI generated, and which part is JL (John Lewis) generated?

A Year-Long Learning Journey
Anyway, like most busy professionals, finding the brain space to understand AI has been a challenge. Thus, my journey with AI began with a year-long “collection process” of various articles, resources, and notes about AI (which I saved to a google mail folder), knowing that I would dedicate time in the summer to deepening my understanding. When June arrived, I set aside between 90 minutes and two hours each day to study generative AI. The time involved a mix of reading, playing, and reflecting, and this focused learning period allowed me to immerse myself in the technology, understand its capabilities, and consider how it could be applied to our school's context.

To quote Ethan Mollick, it takes “three sleepless nights” to truly understand the power of AI, and my intensive study period was transformative. By dedicating consistent, focused time to learning about AI, I was able to grasp its potential and begin experimenting with its applications. This experience reinforced the value of committing to continuous professional development, especially in areas as dynamic and impactful as AI.

AI Enhances Chesapeake Bay Studies Program
One of the standout examples of AI's impact at The Gunston School was its assistance in helping us to begin re-imagining our Chesapeake Bay Studies program. This signature program involves multiple weeklong experiential education trips for every student, every May. Over the years, we’ve desired to reimagine some of these trips, so we utilized a Generative AI tool to help redesign itineraries which incorporated key curriculum elements. The AI-generated ideas and organizational assistance, combined with our expertise, resulted in a highly successful and engaging experience for a group of administrators involved in the planning. This application of AI is not only streamlining the planning process but it will certainly enrich the diversity and quality of field experience content delivered to our students.

Beyond trip planning, AI has also played a significant role in policy development and curriculum planning. For instance, rewriting our academic integrity policy to address the implications of AI was initially a daunting task. However, by incorporating AI into the drafting process, we were able to significantly reduce the time required to complete the policy. This allowed us to focus more on articulating our values and ensuring the policy accurately reflected our school's language and ethos.

The Role of AI in Independent School Leadership
Our discussion also touched on the broader implications of AI for independent school academic leaders. Maintaining professional, human judgment in our interaction and relationships with students must remain paramount. AI might assist in streamlining administrative tasks, generating insights, and enhancing the efficiency of our work, but we maintain a steadfast belief that the core of our educational mission must remain human-centered.

In regard to a good starting points for educational leaders, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick's book, "Co-Intelligence" as well as his insightful blog posts provides valuable insights into the integration of AI into professional settings. I encouraged our team to reflect on its principles and consider how they could be applied to our own practices. The book emphasizes the transformative potential of AI while also highlighting the importance of maintaining a balance between technology and human judgment.

Encouraging AI Use Among Faculty and Staff
One of my key responsibilities as head of school is to foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. To this end, I have actively encouraged our leadership team and faculty to explore and utilize AI tools in their work. Here are some strategies we implemented:

• Workshops and Training Sessions: We are organizing workshops and training sessions to introduce faculty and staff to generative AI tools. These sessions will provide hands-on experience and practical examples of how AI can be integrated into their daily tasks.
• Collaborative Projects: We will initiate collaborative projects where teams can experiment with AI applications in curriculum planning, policy development, and administrative tasks. These projects are serving as testing cases for discovering the most effective ways to leverage AI.
• Resource Sharing: We are creating a repository of AI resources, including articles, tutorials, and case studies, to support ongoing learning and exploration. This repository will be accessible to all staff and is regularly updated with new information.
• Open Discussions: We will be holding regular discussions and brainstorming sessions to share experiences, challenges, and successes related to AI integration. These conversations help build a community of practice and encourage mutual support.

We are confident that by fostering an environment where experimentation with AI is encouraged and supported, we will see significant improvements in efficiency and creativity across various aspects of our work. At this point, even though we are just scratching the surface of potential use cases for AI, some of the output, efficiency, and creativity has been breathtaking to behold.

Challenges and Opportunities
Integrating AI into our educational work presents both challenges and opportunities. One of the primary challenges is ensuring that we use AI to enhance our teaching without overshadowing the personal connections we have with our students. Knowing our students deeply and understanding their individual needs is crucial. AI can provide tools to support this understanding, but it cannot replace the human element of education.

On the opportunity side, AI has the potential to significantly reduce the time spent on administrative and organizational tasks, allowing educators to focus more on their core mission of teaching and mentoring students. By embracing AI, we can enhance the quality and efficiency of our work, ultimately benefiting our students and our school community.

Though we’re at the start of our journey, the integration of AI into our educational practices at The Gunston School has already been transformative. As with other powerful educational innovations, by leveraging AI thoughtfully, we believe we can create a more efficient, effective, and engaging educational experience for our students.