Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how young people learn, play, and prepare for future careers. With these changes, supporting educators to navigate AI safely, ethically, and effectively has never been more vital. With support from the AMD Foundation, the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), in partnership with Ingenia Learning and STEM Next Opportunity Fund, launched Building AI Literacy for Inclusion in STEM, an initiative designed to examine the current state of AI literacy across formal and informal K-12 learning environments.
At the core of this initiative was a national landscape study implemented to better understand how education professionals are currently engaging with AI and the types of support and training they need. To capture both broad trends and individual lived experiences, the landscape study used a mixed-methods approach. We collected survey responses from 552 K-12 education professionals and conducted eight focus group discussions with 47 education professionals (averaging 5–6 participants per session).
On August 19, 2026, NGCP and our partners officially released the National AI Literacy Landscape Study Report alongside a national webinar (the first in a three-part series NGCP is hosting on AI literacy) walking through the primary findings, field insights, and strategic recommendations that are based on the study’s findings uncovered through the study.
What We Learned
The core findings from the study presented during the webinar highlight both the momentum and the ongoing challenges surrounding AI in formal and informal K-12 education:
- AI use is already common among education professionals, but it remains largely practical and task-oriented
- AI-related professional development is strongly associated with education professionals’ confidence, use, and readiness to teach AI concepts.
- Ethical concerns, privacy issues, and limited institutional support continue to slow AI adoption.
- Education professionals are seeking practical, hands-on implementation support rather than introductory information about AI.
- Meaningful equity and access gaps exist across types of education professionals and learning environments.
- Youth interest in AI is high, but AI literacy and critical understanding remain limited.
Spotlight on Practice: Insights from STEM Next
The webinar also featured guest speaker Camsie McAdams, Director of the Institute for a STEM Ready America at the STEM Next Opportunity Fund. As a partner on the Building AI Literacy for Inclusion in STEM initiative, STEM Next brings expertise in supporting out-of-school time (OST) programs. During the webinar, Camsie shared real-world lessons from STEM Next’s Opportunity AI pilot project. The pilot engaged afterschool network leaders and educators across Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to explore practical, accessible ways to introduce AI in OST programs.
Camsie highlighted key lessons learned from working directly with OST educators, including that afterschool educators don't need to become AI experts before they can begin. Instead, Camsie shared that, “what people need is an approachable entry point, some resources, and then the confidence to be able to go out there and lead.”
You can learn more about STEM Next’s efforts in their new issue brief, Building AI Literacy at Scale: Why Afterschool Matters Now. Camsie will be joining NGCP again for Part 2 of our webinar series on September 29, when she will dive deeper into field-level insights from afterschool providers and share priority action steps for advancing equitable AI literacy across OST programs.
Six Strategic Recommendations for the Field
Both the report and webinar speakers emphasized that no single organization is able to close AI literacy gaps alone. Schools, districts, OST programs, professional learning providers, researchers, funders, and policymakers all have a role to play. Drawing on evidence from the study, the report offers six recommendations:
- Invest in sustained, tiered AI professional development for educators.
- Develop clear AI guidance, policies, and decision-making tools for education settings.
- Prioritize equity-focused supports for lower-access groups and settings.
- Create practical, youth-centered AI literacy resources that support formal and informal STEM learning, future readiness, and responsible AI use.
- Build a shared field-wide learning network to surface promising practices and reduce isolation.
- Advance research to fill remaining evidence gaps and inform future practice.
Read the Report and Join Our Upcoming Webinars
Our August 19th webinar was the first installment in a three-part national series designed to translate these findings and recommendations into field-wide action. Learn more by reading the full report, viewing the webinar recording, or joining NGCP for the next installments in our series. Together, NGCP, Ingenia Learning, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, and the AMD Foundation are committed to strengthening the formal and informal STEM ecosystem and ensuring that all young people are meaningfully included in conversations and decisions about AI.
- Read the Report: Download and read the full National AI Literacy Landscape Report
- Watch the Recording: Access the August 19 recording and presentation materials
- Register for Upcoming Webinars in the Series:
- Part 2: Recommendations in Action in OST Settings on September 29, 2026, at 10 AM PT / 11 AM MT / 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET
- Part 3: Tools & Resources to Empower Educators on November 3, 2026, at 11 AM PT / 12 PM MT / 1 PM CT / 2 PM ET
Programs and Initiatives
