Weโre so glad you are here! This community was created with the goal of supporting principals in building their AI literacy while addressing one of the most critical challenges in education today: teacher retention. Research shows that teacher turnover can cost students up to 72 days of lost learning in a single year (Kaler et al., 2025) and that principals play a major role in reversing negative trends.
During the 2025-26 school year, weโll dig into five areas where your leadership makes the biggest difference:
- Cultivating a positive and supportive school culture
- Providing targeted professional development and growth
- Implementing robust mentorship and induction programs
- Empowering teacher autonomy and managing workload
- Strengthening communication and feedback mechanisms
Throughout the experience, weโll be working to better understand, evaluate, and use AI in the work of tackling these factors.
Each week, youโll find discussion prompts, resources, and practical tools to support your work. We know how fast things are moving and want to be sure weโre creating and curating impactful resources to support you and fostering meaningful discussions.
Each month, weโll host collaborative design workshops and networking events with principals from across Florida and Texas. These sessions will consist of design sprints in which you and your peers will work together to better understand the five teacher retention factors and build practical solutions to their root causes.
Each quarter weโll be showcasing our communityโs progress in webinars open to the public. These spotlights are a chance to lift up your stories, discuss challenges, celebrate wins, and share the strategies youโre building with a broader audience of educators and leaders.
Meet Your Community Facilitators
To guide us along the way, we have an incredible team of community facilitators from across Digital Promise and Google. Theyโll help spark conversations, share resources, and ensure that your ideas and experiences are at the center of this learning journey.
Dr. Kristal Ayres | Global Lead, Education Leader Programs and Strategy | Google
 | Dr. Kristal Ayres, a passionate educator with over 30 years of experience in the field of education. She is the Global Lead of Education Leader Programs and Strategy at Google for Education. She earned her doctorate degree in Educational Administration, taught at all levels, from elementary school through university, held various executive-level leadership positions in school districts and within data analytics companies, and served as a national consultant and executive advisor for the College Board. Dr. Ayres is a frequent keynote speaker and conference presenter who is dedicated to improving student outcomes through the use of transformative technologies and innovative approaches to learning. |
Zac Chase | Senior Program Manager | Google
 | Zac Chase began his career as a classroom teacher in Sarasota, FL. Since then heโs worked nationally and internationally to support educators and school systems in developing inquiry-driven, project-based, technology-infused learning experiences. Prior to joining the Google for Education team, Zac served in the U.S. Department of Educationโs Office of Educational Technology where he led the drafting of the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan. He has also served as an Instructional Technology Coordinator, k12 ELA Curriculum Coordinator, District Library & Media Services Coordinator, co-chaired the Colorado State Academic Standards Reading, Writing, & Communicating Standards Review Committee, and led the development of an educator-developed, openly-licensed 6-12 ELA curriculum. Heโs an avid runner, proud father of two, and voracious reader. |
Jasmine McCallum | Senior Project Manager, Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning | Digital Promise
 | Jasmine McCallum is a Senior Project Manager at Digital Promise who draws on her background as a classroom teacher to design and lead projects that center equity and powerful learning with technology. She brings deep experience in communications and marketing strategy, using storytelling and engagement to elevate educator voices and share best practices. Passionate about creating opportunities for educators to connect, share, and grow, Jasmine builds partnerships that turn ideas into meaningful impact for schools and communities. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in African and African American Studies from the University of Oklahoma and is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. |
Dr. Kelly McNeil | Senior Learning Experience Designer, Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning | Digital Promise
โ | Kelly McNeil is a Senior Learning Experience Designer at Digital Promise and a former Computer Science teacher. She designs playful professional learning that helps educators explore emerging technologies, from AI to game-based learning, and turn curiosity into practice. Kelly has led national communities that connect teachers, researchers, and industry partners, creating spaces where experimentation and creativity thrive. She earned her Ed.D. in Leadership and Innovation from Arizona State University, where her research focused on how digital games can spark teacher adoption of new approaches to learning. |
Nick Schiner | Director, Peer-to-Peer Professional Learning | Digital Promise
 | Hi, Iโm Nick! I began my career teaching in Baltimore County Public Schools before leading districtwide educational technology and maker learning initiatives. Now at Digital Promise, I lead our peer-to-peer professional learning, designing communities and programs that connect and support educators, researchers, and industry partners. I hold a B.S. in Elementary Education from Towson University and an M.S. in Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University. |
Now itโs your turn! In the comments, please introduce yourself. Share:
- Your name and school/district.
- One leadership win you are especially proud of.
- One area related to the intersection of AI and teacher retention that you want to explore more deeply with this community.
This is our first step in building a collaborative, supportive space and we canโt wait to get started!
