At WLA, AI is Happening Now
Guest Blog By Ashley Jeffrey, Chief Strategy Officer at Washington Leadership Academy Public Charter School
In February 2025, Washington Leadership Academy (WLA) participated in AI for Equity’s national survey alongside six other charter school networks. The results revealed what our school community already believes: WLA is bringing AI into classrooms in a thoughtful and impactful way.
Here at WLA, we are committed to preparing our students for lives of leadership and opportunity. We offer a four-year computer science pathway where students build real-world tech skills that give them a leg up among their peers across the country. For context, our students are mostly Black and Brown, and about 30 percent receive special education services. Nationally, Black and Latinx professionals make up less than 15% of the tech workforce, even though they make up about 32% of the labor force, and even fewer hold roles in computer science fields. This lack of representation informs the gaps we currently have in mentorship pipelines and user design, where technology is too often built without the insights, experiences, or leadership of Black, Brown, and disabled people.
It is our duty to wholly educate future coders who will build equitable technology, and this unwavering commitment drives our work with AI.
Empowering Teachers to Focus on Students
We believe that AI is a tool that supports great teaching, rather than replaces it. Our hypothesis is that when educators use AI to complete time-consuming tasks, like planning and grading, they create more space to focus on what matters most, like delivering high-quality instruction, checking in with kids, and personalizing learning.
At WLA, teachers use AI to differentiate instruction more efficiently, give more feedback, and deepen their relationships with students. While we are still collecting long-term academic data, our early results are promising and reflect a strong foundation for growth.
Helping Students Use AI to Learn and Lead
We have slowly introduced our students to the strategic use of AI through tools like MagicStudent, Quizzizz, and PlayLab chatbots. These tools offer real-time feedback and help students revise and reflect on their work. We especially love Quizzizz, because it gamifies learning so kids can learn in kid-friendly ways. As a result, our students are becoming more confident, engaged, and self-directed in their learning.
We believe that teaching our students how to work with AI now will prepare them to lead in college, careers, and their communities.
What the Data Says
The AI survey conducted in February 2025 shows clear results from WLA’s investments in training, tools, and teacher leadership:
Our staff:
85.4% of teachers use AI professionally. This is the highest rate of any network surveyed.
82.1% use AI daily or weekly, showing that AI is part of their regular routine.
69.2% report that AI has made them more excited to stay in education and more creative in their practice.
79.5% say that AI helps them be more productive, allowing for more student connection and support.
Our students:
63.2% of students say their teachers encourage the use of AI in class. This is well above the average of other networks.
78.9% say WLA is clear about when and how AI can be used.
52.6% say they understand how AI works, as a key foundation for their future in AP and more advanced computer science courses.
These results reflect what we see in our classrooms every day: Our students are curious, our teachers are bold, and our community’s commitment to innovation is starting to pay off!
Looking Ahead
WLA’s approach to AI is about creating more time for meaningful teaching and deeper learning. It’s about building a culture where tools serve people, not the other way around. And most importantly, it’s about ensuring that the students who have been historically left out of tech innovation are the ones leading it.
We are proud of the progress we’ve made so far, and we’re even more excited for what’s ahead.
