According to a blog post by FullScale, the program selected 13 school and district teams from 10 states from a pool of 114 applicants. The lab is cohort-based, as described in a news release this week, where each team will test AI strategies according to their local priorities, collaborate and learn with other participating schools, and receive explicit AI coaching.
Another FullScale blog post described the initiative as a way to expand access to meaningful career pathways, support diverse learners, make differentiation and personalization more sustainable, and to build AI literacy across systems.
“The educators in this cohort are doing something the broader field desperately needs: learning by doing, in real communities, with real students,” All4Ed CEO Amy Loyd said in a public statement. “What they discover about what works, what doesn’t, and what our rural schools actually need from AI won’t just benefit their own classrooms. This work will help shape a more effective and equitable path forward for districts everywhere.”
Earlier this year, FullScale conducted a “nationwide field scan” to examine AI use in rural districts. The report that followed showed that individual teachers in rural areas are already using AI, but it’s not systematized at the district level and largely unsupported by formal policy.
Another notable finding from the report was that current AI tools do not fit rural realities, in which schools are largely saddled with smaller staff capacity, fewer specialized roles and geographic isolation.
“Rural systems possess structural assets that enable and require alignment, trust and rapid coordination. At the same time, they operate within long-standing design conditions — staffing structures, role configurations, and resource landscapes — that shape what is possible,” the report said. “[M]any conversations shaping AI’s future in K-12 education either exclude the perspectives of these schools and systems entirely, or treat them as downstream recipients of approaches developed elsewhere.”
Moreover, the report conveyed that data shows rural educators are not resistant to AI, and the technology’s potential impact on these districts depends on whether the tools, local and federal policies, and professional development programs intentionally address rural-specific capacity, design and policy needs. As a result, the report emphasized that AI implementation cannot simply replicate urban or suburban models, where reliable high-speed Internet and dedicated support staff are relatively commonplace. According to the news release, the Rural AI Strategy Lab will instead focus on low-bandwidth solutions, tools that reduce the burden of training staff, and designs that fit small or mixed settings.
“As a former superintendent, I know firsthand the unique challenges and opportunities rural schools face,” FullScale Co-CEO Virgel Hammonds said in a public statement. “These 13 teams represent the ingenuity and dedication that defines rural education, and we are proud to support them as they help shape what responsible AI adoption looks like for communities like theirs.”
