IBM launches K-12 AI leaders fellowship alongside school-readiness survey

IBM launched the IBM K-12 AI leaders fellowship on September 2, 2026, a program for school district leaders working on responsible artificial intelligence adoption. Alongside the program, the company released a commissioned national survey of U.S. educators and parents that it presents as evidence that classroom AI use is moving faster than schools’ training, guidance and responsible-use systems.

The first cohort begins in fall 2026 and will include up to 100 superintendents, education leaders and educators from the greater New York area, according to IBM. IBM said participants will receive AI learning and credentials through IBM SkillsBuild and have access to a responsible-AI curriculum, capstone projects and expert facilitators. IBM said it plans to expand the cohort model to additional states during the program’s first year.

The accompanying research was commissioned by IBM and conducted by Morning Consult. The firm surveyed 1,019 K-12 education professionals and 1,029 parents of K-12 students online in July 2026, IBM said, for a combined 2,048 respondents.

IBM reported a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points for each sample. That figure covers sampling uncertainty alone; it does not account for question wording or for who agreed to participate. The findings record what respondents told a survey IBM paid for, not independently collected measurements of district practices.

IBM did not name the additional states it expects to add, identify the districts in the first cohort or release results from a completed cohort.