AI Lab symposium gathers educators from all three campuses to craft school-wide guidelines prior to the 2026-2027 academic year
JACKSONVILLE, FL, UNITED STATES, August 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Episcopal School of Jacksonville (ESJ) hosted a full-day symposium this June, uniting faculty from all three campuses to explore the role of artificial intelligence in education and define the institution’s classroom strategy for its use. A second session took place in July, with both events organized under the school’s AI Lab initiative and aimed at producing an operational policy before the current school year begins.
The Episcopal AI Lab, an exploratory initiative that delves deeply into policy development, strategy, and purpose, is supported by a generous contribution from the Cranberg family, reflecting a thoughtful, mission-driven approach—one that prioritizes human learning, ethical accountability, and student growth in every decision.
Faculty conversation across both sessions repeatedly returned to a central question: What is fundamental to each academic discipline, and how does the inherent difficulty of learning in mathematics, science, history, theology, and language shape the skills students carry forward?
“We recognize that it is critically important for students to develop the abilities they gain when confronting the difficulty, process, reflection, and revision involved in completing an assignment,” stated Natalie Herford, Head of Upper School. “The process of learning itself can never be substituted by AI; how we approach learning at Episcopal School of Jacksonville becomes even more vital as our society moves toward convenience and speed. Learning must be meaningful, help build practical skills, and broaden intellectual capacity.”
The aim of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, as expressed through the symposium, is to instruct students in using AI ethically and deliberately as a tool that supports deeper thinking rather than replacing it. Faculty underscored the attributes that define human learning—such as judgment, creativity, curiosity, and moral reasoning—as elements AI cannot imitate and that the school must continue to nurture.
AI literacy at ESJ is introduced in phases tailored to student development. Students in the school’s preschool and lower elementary school divisions do not use AI, instead concentrating on age-appropriate discussions about digital literacy and ethical technology use. Fourth and fifth graders may use AI through Flint, the school’s private AI platform, under faculty supervision. As they move into Middle School, learning to prompt, question, and employ AI as a tool becomes part of the educational process. Faculty at the Lower Schools can use Episcopal’s closed Flint AI platform for lesson planning and lesson exploration.
Faculty throughout middle school and high school divisions employ consistent language and standards when addressing AI in the classroom. The AI Acceptable Use Menu, developed by ESJ and shared across all campuses, outlines six categories of assignments ranging from No Use through Inquiry, Tutoring, Research, Analysis, and Content Generation, each with its own disclosure and citation requirements. Anchoring all six categories are five shared principles: AI use at Episcopal must be human-centered, learning-centered, age-appropriate and safe, ethical, and purposeful. Approved platforms include FlintAI, NotebookLM, Canva, and tools within the Adobe Creative Suite. All authorized AI use is monitored by educators through the Flint platform.
“Setting aside an entire day for our faculty to work through this together, and then bringing them back for a second session in July, says a great deal about how seriously Episcopal School of Jacksonville is taking this,” said Rev. Adam Greene, Head of School. “Many institutions are waiting to see where artificial intelligence settles before they respond. Our faculty chose to sit with genuinely difficult questions about their own disciplines and shape our approach while those questions are still open. We are preparing students for a world none of us can fully predict, and the way to do that is not to guess at the technology. It is to be clear about our values.”
Herford added: “Our faculty conversations and conclusions from the symposium mirrored the middle way approach we bring to all challenges. We believe students must be engaged in order to learn, and that learning is exponentially more complicated and nuanced than what a machine can do or teach. The importance of the human element in the classroom cannot be overstated.”
About Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Episcopal School of Jacksonville is an independent school in Jacksonville, Florida serving students from age one through grade 12 across three campuses. The school provides an exceptional college preparatory education within an academically challenging and caring environment focused on a balanced experience across the school’s four pillars of academics, arts, athletics, and spiritual life. Learn more at ESJ.org.
Brandon Westerman
Episcopal School of Jacksonville
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
X
