One of the nation’s largest teachers unions is launching an artificial intelligence training hub for teachers in partnership with top technology companies as industry members ramp up their push for AI education integration.
The American Federation of Teachers – which is the second largest teachers union in the United States – announced on July 8 that it will open the National Academy for AI Instruction in the fall, helped by $23 million of funding from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
The academy will be located in New York City and will begin classes at its New York facility in the fall with plans to scale nationwide.
It aims to “address the gap in structured, accessible AI training and provide a national model for AI-integrated curriculum and teaching that puts educators in the driver’s seat,” according to the union.
“Teachers are facing huge challenges, which include navigating AI wisely, ethically and safely,” said Randi Weingarten, president of AFT, during the academy’s launch event on Tuesday. “When we saw ChatGPT … we knew it would fundamentally change our world. The question was whether we would be chasing it, or whether we would try to harness it.”
The academy has been a work in progress for the past three years starting with Microsoft and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Weingarten explained. Over time additional major technology companies entered the partnership to make the academy a place where industry can teach AI standards, the official said.
She added that the union took inspiration from other unions that have created industry partnerships to educate workers – such as those that serve electricians and carpenters.
“Teachers are looking for ways … that we can harness it, that we can use it for the good that is supposed to be AI,” said Weingarten. “We can also make sure, particularly without any Federal guardrails for this, that … we need to protect the safety and the security of kids that is now becoming our job, and no one else is helping us with that – certainly not in Washington.”
Weingarten referenced recent cuts to education funding after the Trump administration refused to release nearly $7 billion in Federal funding for educational programs and initiatives last week.
“A few days after the Federal government basically told public education that you are not our priority anymore, we are saying that with our tech partners … national public education is a priority,” said Weingarten.
Despite cuts to education funding, the Trump administration has been leading the charge on integrating AI education into classrooms – but has largely handed the bill for those efforts to industry, urging American companies and nonprofits to provide technical and financial resources for schools, teachers, and students. Since requesting that industry support AI education, over 60 companies and groups have signed the White House’s pledge.
An executive order issued in April established a White House Task Force on AI Education to create public-private partnerships for K-12 AI education.
“We have to listen to teachers, co-create and develop these tools with teachers … what we’re saying to the world and to teachers across the country is you now have a place … where you can come and co-create and learn and understand how to harness this tool to make your classroom the best classroom,” said Gerry Petrella, general manager of U.S. public policy at Microsoft.
Petrella said he’s looking forward to seeing the academy expand steps he’s seen taken toward tailored AI curriculum and tools for specific needs. “We know that AI skilling and education … [is] going to benefit society and our entire economy,” he said.
The idea for the academy was first proposed by Roy Bahat, a member of AFT and head of Bloomberg Beta, according to AFT. Teachers will be provided with scalable training modules, virtual learning environments and credential pathways.
“When it comes to AI in schools, the question is whether it is being used to disrupt education for the benefit of students and teachers or at their expense,” said Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer of OpenAI, in a statement. “This AI academy will help ensure that AI is being deployed to help educators do what they do best – teach – and in so doing, help advance the small-‘d’ democratizing power of education.”