Starting 2026 Strong with Colleague AI: Practice, Voices, and PD 🚀
See a classroom use case, join our AI implementation podcast series, and register for January PD with ESD 113.
Community Sharing
Back-to-School Tip for Educators
When educators say, “Just build a relationship with the student,” what do they actually mean?
One educator asked Colleague AI ( Brainstorm Ideas Chat with Charlie AI ) to unpack that phrase. The result: a clean, classroom-ready one-pager that turns vague advice into actionable moves you can try tomorrow, from quick recognition routines to simple ways to build trust, safety, and student voice in Week 1.
📄 Teacher handout included
✅ Practical, doable, and ready for your classroom (or PLC)
Image generated by Charlie AI on Colleague AI.
Prompt authored by Hayley Spohn (Federal Way Public Schools, WA)
Podcast Series
🎙️ Podcast Series Announcement | AI Implementation at School and District, Jan-Mar 2026
This spring, Colleague AI is launching a three-part podcast series spotlighting how AI is actually being implemented across classrooms, schools, and districts—through the voices of educators doing the work.
Each episode centers real practice, real constraints, and real decision-making around responsible AI use in education.
Series I. Classroom Teachers
📅 January 8, 2026 | ⏰ 3:30-4:30 PM PT
How are classroom teachers navigating AI on the ground?
Join Hayley Spohn (Federal Way Public Schools, WA) and guest classroom teachers as they discuss:
- Early instructional shifts with AI
- Student engagement and accessibility
- Practical challenges teachers are encountering
- Emerging opportunities to support diverse learners
This episode centers classroom reality—not hype.
Series II. Instructional Coaches
📅 February 19, 2026 | ⏰ 3:30–4:30 PM PT
What does it look like to support AI adoption at scale?
Join Ryan Fries (Bellingham Public Schools, WA) and fellow instructional coaches as they share:
- Coaching strategies for AI integration
- Using PLCs and coaching cycles to support adoption
- Dedicated AI learning time and teacher readiness
- Translating emerging tools into sustainable practice
This conversation focuses on how coaches help bridge tools and teaching.
Series III. District Administrators
📅 March 12, 2026 | ⏰ 3:30–4:30 PM PT
What does thoughtful AI implementation look like at the system level?
District and school leaders, including technology and curriculum administrators, reflect on:
- Policy, infrastructure, and equity considerations
- Professional learning and educator capacity
- Family and community engagement
- Evaluating AI’s role in strengthening instruction and learning outcomes
This episode explores what it takes to move from pilots to coherent, district-wide practice.
Our Community
Capital Region ESD 113 Online PD: Colleague AI (January 2026)
Join Capital Region ESD 113 for two online professional learning offerings focused on Colleague AI:
1) (OLAJ0086) Colleague AI: Lesson Preparation & Classroom Features (Event #194184)
🗓 Wed, Jan 14, 2026 (4:00–5:30 PM) + Wed, Jan 21, 2026 (4:00–5:30 PM)
A 2-part series covering prompting skills, ethical AI use, lesson planning, interactive games/presentations, assessment and standards-based rubrics, podcasts/slides, and classroom feature use cases.
pdEnroller 🔗 https://www.pdenroller.org/esd113/catalog/event/194184
2) (OLAJ0087) Colleague AI: Supporting System Implementation of AI (Event #194186)
🗓 Wed, Jan 28, 2026 (4:00–6:00 PM)
A hands-on session for school administrators focused on system-wide implementation: using AI for data analysis, identifying gaps, evidence-based interventions, context-aware organizational use, and instructional leadership.
pdEnroller 🔗 https://www.pdenroller.org/catalog/event/194186
💻 Online | 💲 $10 registration fee per course
