Clint Litzinger’s phone has rarely stopped ringing since beginning his one-of-a-kind role as an artificial intelligence expert for Northern Kentucky public schools.
It’s been about 18 months since 23 Northern Kentucky school districts collectively decided to open a role for an AI integration specialist through the Northern Kentucky Cooperation for Educational Services (NKCES).
The 23-district collaborative, which includes all 13 districts in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, is one of Kentucky’s eight regional cooperatives. The purpose is to support school districts by allowing them to share resources, training and even maximize purchasing power.
NKCES staff and its governing board of superintendents began discussing the position about two years ago, according to NKCES Chief Academic Officer Robb Smith.
“I think there was just a moment there in society where everyone was all of the sudden, I wouldn’t say concerned — but I would say interested — in … the possibilities for artificial intelligence and education,” Smith said.
He said it’s become common for cooperatives or districts to hire instructional technology staff who help integrate digital tools in the past decade.
“But we really wanted to take the next step in that evolution. We wanted someone who was strong with instructional technology, but we also wanted someone who was a futurist and innovator,” he said.
Really, they were looking for a unicorn, said NKCES Executive Director Amy Razor. Then Litzinger’s application came across their desk. He spent a decade as a middle school science teacher before becoming a technology lead at Bracken County School District, one of NKCES’ member districts.
He decided to apply for the job because he’d always been fascinated by technology and began experimenting with AI using ChatGPT when it first came out back in 2022.
“During that conference, I was like, ‘How can we use this as a tool to enhance our classrooms?’” Litzinger said.
He called himself a scientist at heart, enjoying experimenting with the new tool.
“To me this was the next revolution of education,” Litzinger said.
Unlike the way other industries are adopting AI use, Litzinger’s job isn’t to prescribe AI tools or use in Northern Kentucky districts, but to explore those options alongside NKCES partners.
“Trying to find somebody who likes serving a region takes a special gift because every district has a different need. I mean, you can’t go in and be a one-size-fits-all (resource),” Razor said.
He functions as a thought partner available to support educators and administrators in their own time as they approach him with questions and ideas, by phone or swinging by his office.
“Some districts are a little further down the road than others, and being able to meet them on that road where they are, I think, is kind of like where I wanted to go with this position,” Litzinger said.
Some districts, like Beechwood Independent School District, are on the bleeding edge of AI integration, having hosted a third regional summit on the topic in August.
The district has also created an “AI Innovation Team” composed of students and staff and AI guidelines. Not all districts have developed standalone AI policies, Litzinger said.
The newness of the position and AI landscape means Litzinger is continuing to figure things out as he goes.
“It changes every day, as you know, AI is constantly in flux,” he said.
So far, Northern Kentucky schools are primarily using AI tools to better analyze student data using privacy guardrails and enhance classroom experiences, Litzinger said.
“My day-to-day is working right alongside teachers, helping them use these tools so that they can become more time-efficient, so that they can provide that time back to their students,” he said.
According to Razor, using AI to analyze student data can help educators remove their own subjectivity.
At the request of school districts, Litzinger has also been leading professional development for educators on AI use. For example, during a session in Kenton County, he asked educators for one resource they wished they had for their students. Their response: science simulations. So he worked with them to use Google’s AI tool Gemini to create a lab where students could simulate chemical reactions within a cell.
As Litzinger continues working with Northern Kentucky education leaders he always thinks back to when he was in the classroom.
“I always had these grandiose ideas for my kids, but it always cost a whole lot of money to have those ideas come to life, and the budgets weren’t there for that, or the product doesn’t exist … and today it does,” he said.
Now, educators ideas can become products.
“Simply, (they) have the tool to make that a reality for (their) kids,” he said.
