Most Jewish schools have moved past the question of whether AI matters. Now comes the harder question: what should we actually do with it?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard from many school leaders following my last piece.

Heads of School. Principals. Board members.

The message has been consistent:

“We’re thinking about this.”“We’ve started experimenting.”“We know this matters.”

And that’s meaningful.

Because not long ago, the conversation wasn’t even happening.

But there’s is now a shift starting to take place.

The question is no longer “Should we be paying attention to AI?”For most schools, that answer is already yes.

“What are we actually trying to do with it?”

This is where many schools find themselves stuck not because of resistance, but because of possibility.

There are too many entry points.

Teachers are finding their own use cases.Administrators are testing different tools.Ideas are coming from everywhere.

On the surface, that looks like progress.

And in many ways, it is.

But without a shared direction, it’s very hard for that progress to compound into something meaningful.

What I’m seeing across schools isn’t a lack of effort.

It’s a lack of decision.

Not a final decision.Not a perfect plan.

But a decision about where to focus.

Because AI can do many things.

It can save time.It can improve communication.It can support differentiated instruction.It can streamline operations.

But it can’t do all of those things at once, at least not in a thoughtful way.

And when everything is a priority, nothing really moves.

So the next step for schools isn’t more experimentation.

It’s choosing a starting point.

A clear, intentional place to begin.

Focusing on reducing administrative burden for teachersImproving parent communicationSupporting curriculum developmentOr streamlining internal processes

There isn’t one right answer.

But there is a meaningful difference between:

“We’re trying things”and“We’re focusing here first.”

That shift changes everything.

Because once a school chooses a direction:

It becomes easier to align peopleEasier to evaluate toolsEasier to measure impactAnd easier to build trust along the way

This is especially important in Jewish education.

Our institutions don’t just adopt change.

They interpret it, through values, through community, through responsibility.

Which means the goal isn’t speed.

The schools that will get the most out of this moment won’t be the ones doing the most with AI right now.

They’ll be the ones willing to pause just long enough to ask:

Where can this make a real difference for us?Where does it connect to our actual challenges?And where do we want to lead rather than just follow?

Because the opportunity isn’t just to use AI.

It’s to use it on purpose.

And that starts with deciding what matters most.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)