Cognia, ChatGPT, and the Moment Schools Can No Longer Ignore

At a recent gathering of educators and leaders connected through Cognia, one theme surfaced again and again—not as a speculative whisper, but as a confident keynote refrain: artificial intelligence has arrived in schools, and it is here to stay.

Cognia, long respected as one of the world’s leading accreditation organizations, has built its reputation on helping schools reflect, improve, and align with best practices. Its conferences tend to look forward, but this year the gaze was unmistakably fixed on the present. Several keynote speakers spoke directly—and pragmatically—about the growing role of ChatGPT and generative AI in education.

What emerged was not hype. It was recognition.

AI’s “Late-1990s Internet” Moment

One keynote speaker captured the moment succinctly: AI today feels like the Internet in the late 1990s. At that time, schools debated whether the Internet was a distraction or a necessity. Within a few years, the debate was over. Email, search engines, and online research became foundational skills, not optional add-ons.

We are now in a similar universal adoption phase with AI.

Students are already using it. Teachers are experimenting with it. Administrators are being asked to regulate it. The question is no longer whether AI belongs in education, but how wisely it will be used.

ChatGPT as a Tool, Not a Shortcut

A recurring message from the Cognia keynotes was refreshingly balanced: ChatGPT is not a replacement for thinking—it is a tool for enhancing it.

Used well, AI can:

• Help students brainstorm and refine ideas

• Support differentiated instruction

• Assist teachers with lesson planning and feedback

• Provide scaffolding for learners who need additional support

Used poorly, it can become a crutch. But this is true of calculators, search engines, and spellcheckers as well. The solution has never been prohibition; it has always been instruction.

Why AI Literacy Now Matters

Accreditation is ultimately about readiness—preparing schools for the realities students will face beyond graduation. In that sense, understanding AI is no longer a futuristic concern. It is a core literacy.

Knowing how to use ChatGPT and other AI systems responsibly means understanding:

• How to ask good questions

• How to evaluate AI-generated information

• How to maintain academic integrity while leveraging new tools

• How human judgment, creativity, and ethics remain central

The speakers emphasized that schools which ignore AI risk doing students a disservice. Those that engage with it thoughtfully, however, have an opportunity to model adaptability, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.

A Cognia-Aligned Opportunity

Cognia’s focus on continuous improvement aligns naturally with this moment. AI challenges schools to revisit curriculum, assessment, and professional learning—not to abandon tradition, but to update it intelligently.

Just as the Internet reshaped education without replacing teachers, AI will do the same. The institutions that thrive will be the ones that teach students not merely what to think, but how to think with new tools in hand.

The future, as the keynotes made clear, is not artificial. It is human—augmented, informed, and increasingly fluent in AI.

And that future is already sitting in today’s classrooms.

Part 2: 

Risk-Taking, Robots, and the Courage to Co-Learn

Another powerful thread woven through our discussions was the need for teachers to take intellectual and instructional risks—especially when teaching content through emerging technologies. At schools like Barrett, this risk-taking is already happening in meaningful ways: teaching physics with robots, algebra through robotics, and using hands-on technology not as an add-on, but as the medium through which core concepts come alive.

This approach requires a shift in mindset.

In technology-rich classrooms, teachers are not always the most knowledgeable person in the room when it comes to the tools themselves—and that is not a weakness. It is a strength. When students understand a coding language, a robotic system, or a piece of hardware better than the teacher, the classroom becomes something richer: a community of co-learners.

Several educators emphasized that modern teachers must increasingly act as facilitators of knowledge rather than sole distributors of it. Learning becomes collaborative. Authority is shared. Curiosity replaces control.

And yes—sometimes the lesson plan doesn’t work.

A robot fails to move. A program crashes. A 3D printer jams halfway through a print. But these moments are not failures; they are authentic learning experiences. When a teacher unfamiliar with a 3D printer invites students to teach her—or learns alongside them—she models adaptability, humility, and resilience. Students learn not just content, but how adults learn in real time.

Staying Relevant in a Demanding Profession

Teaching is already a demanding, emotionally and intellectually taxing profession. Asking educators to continually update their skills can feel overwhelming. And yet, the consensus was clear: relevance is not optional.

Staying current does not mean mastering every new technology before it enters the classroom. It means staying open. It means being willing to say, “Let’s figure this out together.” It means taking risks—not recklessly, but courageously.

Just as AI demands a new kind of literacy, robotics and emerging technologies demand a new kind of teaching posture: one grounded in curiosity, flexibility, and lifelong learning.

The educators who will thrive in this new era are not the ones who know everything—but the ones who are willing to learn, adapt, and grow alongside their students.

And in that sense, the future of education is not just technologically advanced—it is profoundly human.