Now, why would you as a principal need AI?
Being a principal requires a lot of busywork everyday. Between meetings, emails fill your inbox, and paperwork piles up. It feels like you are slowly sinking in a pool of admin work.
But if there was a way for you to offload all your ongoing issues and focus on your school and students?
Well, you’ve got AI for that. Your ultimate support system!
It’ll help you whenever you need it to, starting from automating repetitive admin work like scheduling, attendance and generating reports and overall professional development.
Its core functionality is to deliver the services rendered by a virtual assistant. Pretty much the same as hiring a personal virtual assistant for your needs.
Throughout this blog, we’ll master few things as to why and how principals are using AI to outsource their busywork:
Escaping the Admin Black Hole
Becoming a time-bending master
Unlocking your inner ego self.
No More Manual Tasks, The AI Hand-Over
If you are honest as a principal, you know how boring and repetitive it can be. You deal with many school tasks every day.
You lose sight of reality! You lose your sense of daytime. You’re knees deep in work, which doesn't ever seem to be off your plate.
Here, different types of virtual assistants are assigned to help you with different issues in different sectors as per your needs to automate very specific tasks for you.
Well, AI could essentially be your escape. Be the savior of your tiring week by automating all your principal tasks for you:
Scheduling & Calendar Management: AI can set up meetings, send reminders and even reschedule conflicts.
Email & Communication: AI drafts emails, sorts your inbox and automatically responds to common questions.
Report Generation & Data Analysis: No more self consuming numbers for you! AI can create performance reports, track attendance trends and manage budgets.
Staff Evaluations & Feedback: AI-powered analytics can help you examine teacher performance without the heavy paperwork.
Student & Parent Support: AI chatbots handle FAQs, so you don’t have to answer the same questions repeatedly.
Types of AI Tools You Can Use!
Not every AI is built the same. Some are built with different core functionality...
Like let’s say there are different AI’s for different situations you could be in, where you as a principal would need a certain AI fix.
There’s a lot of roleplaying required, in terms of choosing the right AI for you. Each specific AI got a specific role to play out.
The key tools as AI solutions for School Administration:
Automation AI: It’s for everyday tasks. Takes care of scheduling, grading and organizing documents. It is the AI equivalent of having a super organized assistant.
Data Analytics AI: It’s for the powerful insights that lets you tap into student progress, attendance and budgeting. For Data Analytics, knowledge is indeed power!
Communication AI: It’s your master communicator. It manages emails, reminders and even parent messaging. It is your own personal press security, you could say.
Administrative AI: From HR tasks and workflow management to resource allocation. This is your AI acting behind-the-scenes, with a big key role.
Student Support AI: This AI is about student success. It tracks student progress and flags potential issues and helps you provide personalized support. It’s like a mentor but in digital form for you.
What AI Tools Are Principals Actually Using?
In the lives of school principals, AI- powered tools are being called for more than most. AI tools these days are almost like the backstage pass of leadership, truly needed!
The ones that are already being hit the most:
ChatGPT & Bard AI:
These could easily be taken as your “very expandable and adaptable” go-to.
If you’re in need of drafting a quick email and with just the right words or school announcement notices or automating reports, it’s got it.
This is the one that’s where it really makes a difference for most. If you’re lagging behind in a discussion or a meeting.
It helps you take notes digitally, without you trying to note it down. It transcribes everything for you.
Now, teacher evaluations and assessment have gotten real easier than ever with the continuous assistance from AI.
It leaves you with more time at hand and singularly gives you important feedback and support.
If you want to make real decisions like a pro, AI brings it out for you. AI-powered data analytics that help you make smarter leadership decisions is for you.
Squirro takes unstructured data and interprets an AI-enabled search and delivers the most accurate insight.
It uses AI to help teachers improve their overall efficiency, which involves improving their teaching and professional growth.
It’s an AI-assisted classroom, which uses video analysis to improve teaching strategies plus set goals and make new action plans.
AI: Your Time-Saving Right-Hand Man
The reality of AI is that like anything, it has its ups and down or you could say, a nerve that could be hit, “an achilles heel”.
It’s not magic that gets rid of your need to contribute overall. But it's a powerful and effective tool that could make a real difference.
Consider it your one true, well deserved right-hand man but not your replacement.
The Good Stuff: Why You’ll Love AI
✔Time Savior:
You’re practically reclaiming hours in your week. AI frees you up from those repetitive tasks that drain you. It's a time-bending superpower.
✔ Super efficiency:
AI can handle repetitive tasks and way more faster, plus with ensuring accuracy. Like…no more typos or missed deadlines and stuff like that. AI is all about precision and speed!
✔ Communication Booster:
If you want to enhance communication and response times. AI could help you in that regard. It helps you respond to mails faster, set reminders, keep everyone in the loop, aligned!
✔ Budget Friendly:
If you’re worrying about the cost, AI can actually help you save like hell lotta money, which otherwise would require extra staff or a pricey Virtual Assistant.
The Not-So-Good Stuff: What AI Can’t Do (Yet)
✖ Emotional Intelligence:
AI by definition is smart, but it aint human. So it surely lacks the emotional intelligence and empathy required for an imminent strong leadership.
✖ Data Security:
As with great power, comes great responsibilities. So, you ensure that any AI tools you use, would be complying with data privacy regulations and protect sensitive student information.
✖ The Human Touch:
While AI automates tasks fast like no other, it’s also important not to lose the personal human touch of things. One thing is really important, that is, when you as a principal are leading a community, human connection is key.
Can AI Ever Think Like You?
For sure, AI is insanely powerful..
But do you think it can ever think like you? Like a human?
While it is surreal, the significance AI holds within the crackholds of this world. It can’t really replace the actual genuine unique blend of experience, intuition and emotional intelligence that makes you rare, a human being.
You could say, it’s your super-smart gadget.. But it lacks your heart, here’s a deeper breakdown of it:
🚫 Build genuine relationships:
AI can send emails and manage communications at a great rate but it can’t replace the human connection, the bond you build with your teachers, students and parents.
Which includes the face-to-face interactions, the meaningful, heartfelt conversations, that’s something AI can’t do, offer emotional safety.
🚫 Navigate school culture:
All schools got their own set of traditions.
Planning and executing a complete human experience needs a deep understanding of human behavior. It also requires self-awareness that AI does not have.
🚫 Replace intuition: Years of expertise and experience lets you hone a specific skill. The feeling you get that one certain decision impacts the overall school.
Like knowing in your gut what’s right for your school, can only be guided by your own inner voice. AI can’t touch all the stuff.
Cool stuff about this is, AI could essentially help you by freeing you up.. So you’re more available to focus and build on the relationships, nurture your school culture and trust your intuition!
The Future of AI in Schools!
AI isn’t going anywhere, um you could actually say, “The future of education is knocking on our doors” and it’s powered by AI.
It’s not a question of if AI will play a bigger role in schools and education. It is a matter of how fast it’s going to be such an integral part of our daily life!
A little sneak peak of our not-so-distant future of AI in schools:
Supercharged Automation: AI would be handling payroll, staff onboarding and providing real-time analytics at your convenience. It would be a super qualified and efficient administrative team working 24/7.
AI-driven decision-making: AI would be stopping guesswork and introducing data-backed insights. It will be providing you with more informed recommendations and helping you make your best decision.
Personalized learning powered by AI: AI has the potential to transfigure how we do it all, watch and learn. AI-powered tools would personalize learning for every student, at their own pace.
AI-driven coaching & teacher training: Even teachers would be benefiting from AI as it can analyze all your data and provide a more personalized approach of training and learning, ultimately helping teachers to brush up their methods.
Soon, principals would be relying more on AI-driven school administrators than hiring a freelance virtual assistant for manual tasks.
So, Should You Start Using AI ?
Hell yes!
AI is your best man standing at your wedding or your right hand man, who you know has always got your back and will stand by you.
It’s not about replacing you, it’s about hyping you up even more. Think about it…
AI frees up your time, reduces your stress levels and helps you make the most informed, well thought-of decision, doesn’t drain you with endless problems.
Instead, it helps you get stuff off your back. You’re smarter and without the crazy price tag of an actual assistant.
The principals who know it and who’s really got it, know how to delegate and compartmentalize, with the power of AI.
AI handles all the head bonkers stuff so you worry more about your school, your staff and students.
Now you know your stuff, so don’t wait for the future. Take a leap of faith into AI. Here, humans and AI work together in amazing ways!