Question 1

What is a fractional Chief AI Officer for a school district?

Accepted Answer

A fractional CAIO provides ongoing AI strategy, governance, and leadership to your district on a part-time basis: the experience of a full-time executive without the full-time cost. Engagements typically include AI readiness assessment, policy development, staff capability building, and ongoing cabinet advisory.

Question 2

How is an AI strategy consultant different from an AI tool vendor?

Accepted Answer

A tool vendor sells you a product and moves on. A strategy consultant helps you decide which tools belong in your district, how to roll them out, how to train your staff, and how to govern student data under FERPA and CIPA. The tools are not the hard part; adoption is.

Question 3

What does SAMR mean and how does it apply to district AI adoption?

Accepted Answer

SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition. At the classroom level it describes technology integration. At the district leadership level it describes the difference between automating existing processes (Substitution) and fundamentally redesigning how a district operates (Redefinition). Most districts are at Substitution. The goal is to move up the ladder.

Question 4

How much does AI leadership coaching for a school district cost?

Accepted Answer

Engagements are structured as fixed-fee projects or quarterly advisory relationships. Strategy Sprints start at a fixed fee for an 8-week engagement. Quarterly advisory relationships are billed per quarter. Contact for rates based on district size and scope.

Question 5

What should a superintendent do first when building an AI policy?

Accepted Answer

Start with a district AI readiness assessment: inventory what tools are already in use, which staff are using them, what your legal exposure looks like under FERPA and CIPA, and where the biggest adoption gaps are. That assessment becomes the foundation of the policy.

Question 6

Can a Title I district afford ongoing AI leadership support?

Accepted Answer

AI professional development and strategy consulting can often be funded through Title II (educator effectiveness), Title IV Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment), or remaining ESSER funds. Districts in active budget cycles can often find the right funding bucket for an engagement.

Question 7

What conferences does Wendy Wells speak at?

Accepted Answer

Wendy speaks at ISTE, CoSN, AASA National Conference, SXSWedu, NSBA, and regional superintendent associations including TASA (Texas) and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators. She is available for district professional development days and corporate leadership events year-round.

Question 8

What is the book 'Our World Is Not the Same' about?

Accepted Answer

Wendy Wells is writing a book about what AI means for K-12 district leadership, built from 33 years of watching which AI investments transformed teaching practice and which ones sat in closets. The book is aimed at superintendents, district cabinet members, and state education leaders making AI decisions now.

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