{"resourceId":"philadelphia-penn-pass-tiered-ai-professional-development","versions":[{"version":"external-0bb0d9ed3b4f67295f917d9666fa79f49857551d5415ca9612774da65a9ab928","resource":{"id":"philadelphia-penn-pass-tiered-ai-professional-development","title":"Philadelphia Tribune: Penn GSE's PASS program trains Philadelphia administrators, principals and teachers in tiers; K-8 chat interfaces banned, Gemini only for grades 9-12","organization":"School District of Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education","sector":"K-12 public education","geography":"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA","publishedAt":"2026-10-09","publicationDate":"2026-10-09","eventDate":null,"sourceName":"The Philadelphia Tribune","sourceLabel":"Philadelphia Tribune (local reporting)","sourceUrl":"https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/partnering-with-u-of-penn-philadelphia-schools-prepare-educators-for-ai-powered-future/article_ae7693f6-7123-4966-8434-a101a2761f95.html","evidenceClass":"independent-reporting","outcomeClass":"emerging","topics":["accessibility-workforce","governance-procurement","operating-model"],"finding":"Penn GSE's Pioneering AI in School Systems (PASS) pilot, funded by the Marrazzo Family Foundation with later Google support, trains Philadelphia central-office administrators first (policy, legal, administrative systems), then principals, then teachers (daylong sessions plus one hour weekly for five weeks). The district bans student chat interfaces in K-8 (Adobe Firefly only) and approves Gemini as the sole chat interface for grades 9-12. The model reportedly expanded to districts in three states. No learning or adoption outcomes are reported.","sledRelevance":"Shows a large urban district sequencing governance before teacher training and pairing PD with grade-banded tool approval, a counterpoint to the outright bans in Frederick County, NYC and LAUSD already in the archive.","evidence":"Journalistic account quoting Penn GSE staff and a 2025 district article; cites a CDT survey (85% teachers, 86% students used AI in 2024-25; about half trained). No evaluation design, sample, baseline or outcome data for PASS.","architectureImplications":"Grade-banded access implies identity- and grade-aware policy enforcement in Google Workspace for Education and app allow-listing; a single approved chat interface simplifies integration.","governanceImplications":"Leadership tier addresses legal and administrative systems before classroom use; training is aligned to district guardrails rather than vendor defaults.","securityPrivacyImplications":"Penn staff describe early talks with the Office of Technology on student use, privacy and teacher data; specific data agreements are not described.","caveats":"Reporting is program-friendly and relies on partner quotes; Google funds part of the program and Gemini is the approved tool, a potential conflict. Prior-year pilot; no outcomes.","streamIds":["k12"],"roles":{"sales":"Sales framing: districts want AI readiness without the backlash seen in districts that rolled tools out first. This story supports offering governance-first, tiered professional learning tied to an approved-tool list. It does not show learning gains or cost savings, so position any engagement as readiness and policy alignment work, and ask whether funders or vendors shape tool choice, since Google co-funds this program and Gemini is the approved interface.","engineering":"Engineering framing: the operative control is grade-banded access, with no student chat below grade 9, Firefly only, and Gemini for high school. Pre-sales should confirm the district can enforce this through Workspace organizational units, Chrome policy and app allow-lists, and can log usage. The source gives no technical detail, so validation must check that teachers cannot accidentally expose chat features to younger students and that data-sharing settings match agreements.","delivery":"Delivery framing: PASS sequences administrators, principals, then teachers, with teachers getting a daylong session plus five weekly hours and a learning community. Delivery teams can mirror this cadence but should add measurement the source lacks: completion, confidence and usage telemetry, and policy-compliance checks. Ownership sits with the educational technology office, with principals sustaining communities. Risks include vendor-funded content bias and uneven uptake across teacher cohorts."},"roleDetails":{"sales":{"customerProblem":"Districts need staff AI readiness and clear guardrails before expanding student access, without triggering parent backlash.","stakeholders":["Deputy chief of educational technology","Chief academic officer","Principals","Teachers union representatives","Legal/privacy officer"],"discoveryQuestions":["Which AI tools are approved by grade band today?","Has central office completed policy and legal review before teacher training?","Who funds PD and does funding tie to a specific vendor?","How will completion and classroom use be measured?"],"valueHypothesis":"Tiered, governance-first PD may improve consistency of guarded AI use; this source shows design, not measured impact.","potentialEngagement":"A bounded readiness engagement: map approved tools by grade band and design a three-tier PD sequence with measurement built in.","unsupportedClaims":["Improved student learning","Time or cost savings","Effectiveness of PASS in other states","Teacher adoption rates"]},"engineering":{"fit":"Fits districts on Google Workspace for Education that want grade-differentiated AI access.","architectureIntegration":"Enforce grade-banded access via Workspace organizational units, Gemini service toggles, Chrome and app allow-lists; Firefly via SSO for K-8.","prerequisites":["Accurate grade-level OU structure","Admin control over Gemini and Classroom AI features","Signed data privacy agreements per tool"],"constraints":["Pennsylvania and federal student privacy rules (FERPA, COPPA for under-13 users)","Source gives no technical configuration detail"],"security":"Verify data-processing terms for Gemini and Firefly, disable training on student data where possible, and audit logs for chat access by under-grade-9 accounts.","proofOfValue":["Test that K-8 accounts cannot reach any chat interface","Confirm usage logs are available for evaluation","Check vendor terms match district privacy agreements"]},"delivery":{"work":"Deliver a three-tier PD sequence (central office, principals, teachers) aligned to district AI guidelines, with teacher learning communities.","dependencies":["Approved district AI guidelines","Tool configuration by grade band","Protected teacher PD time"],"ownership":"District Office of Educational Technology, with principals owning school-level learning communities.","skillsAdoption":"Teachers need hands-on time with approved tools and peer sharing; source notes age-related differences in comfort.","governanceCheckpoints":["Legal/policy review complete before teacher tier","Tool privacy review before classroom pilots","Mid-cycle review of usage and incidents"],"acceptanceCriteria":["Proposed: >=90% of targeted staff complete their tier","Proposed: zero confirmed K-8 chat-access incidents per term","Proposed: pre/post teacher confidence survey shows measurable gain"],"risks":["Vendor co-funding may bias tool selection","No outcome data to justify scale-up","Uneven teacher uptake"]}},"retrievedAt":"2026-10-10T22:04:03-05:00","enrichedAt":"2026-10-10T22:05:23-05:00","enrichmentBasis":"retrieved source","accessibilityWorkforceImplications":"Extended teacher PD with peer communities addresses workforce readiness; the source notes uneven comfort across teacher age groups.","procurementImplications":"Single approved chat interface per grade band reduces vetting load; philanthropic and vendor funding of PD should be disclosed in procurement review.","operatingModelImplications":"Central technology office leads policy, principals sustain learning communities, and teachers pilot and report back.","sourceVerification":{"openedUrl":"https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/partnering-with-u-of-penn-philadelphia-schools-prepare-educators-for-ai-powered-future/article_ae7693f6-7123-4966-8434-a101a2761f95.html","referenceExcerpt":"The district has banned chat interfaces for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, who are only allowed to use Firefly, Adobe’s image-generation tool.","promptVersion":"sled-research-v4.0","model":null,"basis":"agent-reported inspection"}}}]}