AI in Schools: What’s Happening Around Lower Fairfield County?

As schools, parents, and state officials continue the debate around cell phone use in schools (and screen time in general), a new question is emerging—what to do about AI.

In nearby New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a one-year moratorium on generative AI for students in preschool through 8th grade. 

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” Mamdani said in a statement. “The tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way. That’s why we’re implementing a moratorium on generative AI for students in 2-K through 8th grade and spending the next year studying the impacts of this technology.”

But many schools in Connecticut are embracing the technology, while noting some of the risks. Official guidance from the state’s Department of Education says that AI tools allow students to “deepen and personalize learning,” and that “technology has become ubiquitous in all aspects of learning.”

“Now more than ever, innovations in technology remain critical to education as both enablers as well as sources of potential risk,” the policy statement reads.

The department said that there should be “a common goal that all students would have a baseline understanding of AI in the context of broader digital literacy, a core component of any ’portrait of the graduate’ in preparation for college and careers.”

Why Districts Are Leaning into AI

For many public school districts across southwest Connecticut, this looks like leaning into the technology and piloting programs to see what the different applications and uses could be.

Westport was one of seven districts that were part of an AI pilot program run by the state in 2025. The program aimed to “build upon the digital citizenship curriculum by providing students hands-on experience with AI tools, including skills such as prompt engineering and critical analysis of AI-generated content.”

Westport in fact released a strategic plan in 2025 centered on AI and aimed to guide the district in implementing AI systems for both students and teachers.

“We believe that artificial intelligence, when implemented ethically and intentionally, is not a replacement for teachers but a tool to rehumanize education,” the strategic plan reads. “Our purpose is to use AI not to automate instruction, but to liberate educators from burdensome administrative tasks, personalize student learning at scale, and design a more thoughtful, inclusive, and forward-thinking classroom experience. We seek to leverage AI as a force multiplier, not a substitute, for the creativity, empathy, and professional judgment of Westport Public Schools Educators.”

Meanwhile, the Norwalk school district received a $23,000 National EDSAFE AI Spark Fund grant, one of just 10 districts across the U.S. to receive this award. 

The grant aims to pair the district with “national technical assistance experts to solve real-world challenges around artificial intelligence, focusing on student data privacy, AI literacy, and keeping human judgment at the center of classroom technology,” according to a statement from the district. 

“Norwalk Public Schools pursued this grant as part of our ongoing focus on developing a comprehensive EdTech and AI governance structure. This ensures that we lead our digital learning and operational work with purpose, driving the use of these tools while keeping our students and staff in a safe digital environment,” said Ralph Valenzisi, assistant superintendent of digital learning and innovation in a statement.

Alpha School: All About AI

While a lot of the focus is on public schools, some private schools are moving aggressively to rely heavily on AI. Alpha School, a private network of AI schools, has applied to open a location in Greenwich at 20 East Elm Street, which formerly was the Greenwich Time building and most recently was a retail space for Urban Outfitters and Saks. 

In its application to the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission, the school is described as an “independent, nonsectarian, nonreligious K–8 school that delivers excellence through a personalized, mastery-based approach.”

Each day, two hours are spent on a “morning core academic block,” which includes reading, writing, math, etc., that is “self-paced” with support from “adaptive learning technology

and teacher coaching.” The rest of the day is then spent in “interdisciplinary workshops and 1:1 support: science and social-studies application, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, public speaking, teamwork and leadership, the arts, PE, and core-academics projects.” 

The proposal estimates a small student body, about 60 maximum students. 

The Alpha school network has made headlines recently as Texas rejected its application to become a charter school in the state. According to Propublica, the school had applied to form charter schools in 10 states, but only Arizona has said yes. 

Officials have questioned the “two-hour learning” model as well as the role of the instructors. 

MacKenzie Price, who co-founded the network, voiced her support for the White House’s executive order that calls on schools to provide students with “opportunities to cultivate the skills and understanding necessary to use and create the next generation of AI technology.” 

“This isn’t a scary mandate. It’s long-overdue momentum,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “I've seen the future, and it isn't 10 years away. It’s here, right now. There’s never been a better time to be a teacher or a 5-year-old. The education revolution has begun, and it’s going to be awesome.” 

The Alpha School proposal was on the Planning and Zoning Commission agenda for Sept. 1, but the preapplication review was postponed.