Latest news with #AMIRA
Sharjah 24
26-06-2025
- General
- Sharjah 24
SEA launches 'Leadership Lab' initiative for government nurseries
The initiative includes a series of carefully designed interactive and experiential stations aimed at supporting educational leadership at the nursery level. These experiences enable participants to conduct in-depth analyses of the nursery environment, understand children's needs, and identify specific challenges and opportunities, thereby steering clear of generalizations and fostering evidence-based decision-making. The session also welcomed a select group of experts and administrators from Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA), who enriched the discussions and provided valuable insights to support the development of learning environments across the emirate's nurseries, reinforcing collaboration among key educational stakeholders. In this context, Khawla Al Hosani, Vice Chancellor of Sharjah Education Academy, stated: 'We are pleased to launch the Leadership Lab series, which has been thoughtfully designed to empower leaders of Sharjah Government Nurseries by enhancing their knowledge and skills in data-driven participatory planning, in line with modern educational approaches and contributing to Excellence in early childhood education in Sharjah.' 'We work closely with nursery leaders to provide guidance and support that contributes to continuously improving the performance of the nurseries. At the Academy, we take responsibility for ongoing enhancement and innovation to ensure safe, engaging, and enriching learning environments for children in the Emirate of Sharjah.' She added. The Leadership Labs initiative also aims to foster a culture of collaborative learning through the launch of Networks for Learning Communities (NLCs), which enable leaders to exchange experiences and develop practical, effective improvement plans supported by concepts of collaborative planning, visionary leadership, and institutional foresight. The initiative also introduced the AMIRA program, which offers a rich space for reflection, imagination, and strategic foresight. It empowers participants to develop inspiring strategic visions that reflect the current realities and aspirations of their nurseries, and to translate these visions into actionable steps that create a tangible impact within early childhood environments. Among the program's activities was the 'Field of Impact,' an open platform for sharing ideas and presenting future scenarios. The session focused on identifying enablers and support mechanisms that can be activated at the system level to ensure the sustainability of improvement and the advancement of institutional performance in nurseries.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New frontier of AI-powered ‘teacher-less' charter schools get mixed reviews from state officials
Artificial intelligence may be the new frontier for childhood schooling, but the idea of teacherless classrooms has received mixed reviews from state education officials. Unbound Academy, a Texas-based institution billing itself as the nation's first virtual, tuition-free charter school for grades 4 through 8, reportedly employs AI to teach students in a way that can be geared toward the individual student without "frustration[s]" sometimes present in traditional schooling. While such schools have seen success in being approved to educate students in Arizona, Unbound was formally rejected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. Wy Man Sought Bid To Elect First Ai Bot Mayor In a letter to an Unbound Academy official with a Lancaster office address, Secretary Angela Fitterer said her office has found "deficiencies" in all five criteria needed for approval to teach Keystone State students. Pennsylvania's Charter School law denotes a school must demonstrate sustainable support for the cyber charter school plan from teachers, parents and students. It must also exhibit the capacity to provide "comprehensive learning experiences," enable students to meet academic standards, and abide by Section 1747(a) of the law, which pertains to governance, policy, facility and assessment. Read On The Fox News App "Artificial intelligence tools present unique opportunities in the classroom that educators across Pennsylvania are already exploring how to effectively, ethically and safely implement," a spokeswoman for Fitterer told Fox News Digital. "However, the AI instructional model being proposed by this school is untested and fails to delineate how artificial intelligence tools would be used to ensure that the education provided aligns with PA state standards," she said. In its application, Unbound cited its work with "2HR Learning" an "innovated educational approach that combines AI technology, personalized learning paths, and a focus on life skills development to revolutionize the learning experience," according to the Scranton Times-Tribune. However, Unbound saw success in Arizona, which approved an academy for the 2025-26 school year, while being rejected in three states besides Pennsylvania, according to the Arizona Republic. Two hours are set aside for core instruction, and the rest of the day is geared toward students pursuing "personal interests" and life skills workshops. Unbound Academy co-founder MacKenzie Price told the paper the Grand Canyon State was appealing because of its welcoming of school choice tenets. Another state official on the frontier of educational evolution is Oklahoma Superintendent of Education Ryan Walters. Scotus To Consider Effort To Establish Nation's First Publicly-funded Religious Charter School In recent months, Walters has spearheaded efforts to return the Bible to schools, root out foreign influence in curriculum, and AMIRA – a new literacy initiative, among other endeavors. His state is also set to appear before the Supreme Court this term in regard to interest in allowing a Catholic charter school to receive state funding. Walters said he has not yet seen an application for Unbound or any other AI-powered charter school, but believes that if parents desire the option in the Sooner State, he will consider it. "You have to show parental support that they're asking for it," he said. "You also have to be very transparent. Where's the technology based out of? Who is developing it? We do not want any situation where you've got a CCP or [similar] country, involved there with the technology. . . . You need to be very upfront. Where is the technology developed? What is the curriculum look like?" With Oklahoma's major agricultural sector, many schoolchildren work hours on their family farms when they're not in class. Walters said virtual learning has helped Oklahoma families in the near-term, and suggested an AI school would have a similar setup. He said his state is always open to the next frontier of childhood education. "Catholics have some of the most successful schools in our state in the country. They brought us a model that said we'd like to try out so many of the things that have worked for us in our private schools at a charter school. We can make it available for more kids," he said. "We appreciate the Catholic Church for putting the application before us [and] the radical atheists and teachers union folks – they're dead wrong on this." Walters said – just as Harrisburg deemed the AI-powered charter school did not meet its qualifications – Oklahoma believes the new Catholic charter school met its criteria. "This is the next frontier of school choice – we want more schools. We want more charter schools." Fox News Digital reached out to Unbound Academy for comment and further information on its other state article source: New frontier of AI-powered 'teacher-less' charter schools get mixed reviews from state officials
