Executive Report · 2025–26

The Measure
of Learning

How Independent Schools Are Navigating AI Through Policy, Pedagogy, and Innovation

Drawing on a year of advisory partnerships with Cheshire Academy, Kimball Union Academy, and Woodberry Forest School, the report examines how independent schools are making decisions about artificial intelligence in teaching, assessment, policy, and student life.

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CONSYLIUM
AI strategy for educators, by educators
The Measure
of Learning
How Independent Schools Are Navigating AI
Through Policy, Pedagogy, and Innovation
Executive Report · 2025–26 Academic Year
2025–26 at a Glance
3Partner schools
45One-hour advisory sessions
≈1,000Transcript pages reviewed
8Advisory board members
12Recommendations

2025–26 Partner Schools

Cheshire Academy Kimball Union Academy Woodberry Forest School
“At Cheshire Academy, we recognize that AI isn’t coming to education — it’s already here. That’s why we’ve partnered with CONSYLIUM to ensure we’re on our front foot in this transformative moment. What excites me most about this collaboration is working with advisors who are actual educators facing the same challenges we are. They understand the classroom realities, the institutional complexities, and most importantly, our responsibility to students. Together, we’re building an AI strategy that’s both innovative and grounded in our educational mission — one that empowers our faculty, engages our students responsibly, and positions Cheshire as a thoughtful leader in this new era.”
J. Thomas Woelper
J. Thomas WoelperHead of SchoolCheshire Academy
“CONSYLIUM has been an exceptional partner for their expertise, responsiveness and follow through. Starting out the year with a faculty in vastly different states of curiosity, adoption and avoidance – we now find ourselves with a shared vocabulary and direction for our program and ongoing professional development. I could not recommend CONSYLIUM more strongly for any school that is looking for support, alignment and growth around creating a faculty that can confidently engage with AI as a tool for teaching and learning, and also wrestle with the very real concerns about the ethical and educational challenges embedded in this next phase of technological evolution.”
Tyler Lewis
Tyler LewisHead of SchoolKimball Union Academy

CONSYLIUM Advisory Board Members2025–26

Ellen DevineChoate Rosemary Hall
Matthew JohnsonThe Loomis Chaffee School
Mike KentzFairleigh Dickinson University
Josh LakePomfret School
Lauren LedleyPrinceton Day School
Jennifer ParnellThe Lawrenceville School
Maureen Russo Rodriguez, Ph.D.St. Mark’s School
Nicholas Zufelt, Ph.D.Phillips Academy Andover

Twelve Recommendations

The report closes with twelve recommendations that schools can adapt to their own educational commitments, staffing, and legal obligations.

I

Institutional Direction and Accountability

01Separate enduring commitments from changeable rules
02Give every governance decision an identifiable owner
03Adopt a usable faculty and staff AI policy
II

Teaching, Learning, and Assessment

04Make departmental inquiry the center of faculty development
05Audit the assignments that carry the greatest instructional weight
06State the permitted role of AI on every consequential assignment
07Teach students to interrogate AI output in public and in practice
III

Student Participation and Service

08Give students a continuing role in decisions about AI
09Make campus service projects a structured learning pathway
10Build recurring opportunities for students to learn from peers
IV

Well-Being, Evidence, and Communication

11Address social AI and synthetic media in the school’s response
12Make decisions visible and learn systematically from implementation
Read the full recommendations in the report

About CONSYLIUM

CONSYLIUM is a teacher-led research and advisory firm supporting K–12 schools as they make consequential decisions about artificial intelligence. Our guiding principle, “AI strategy for educators, by educators,” reflects our commitment to grounding institutional decisions in the judgment of those who know classrooms and students. Through year-long partnerships, CONSYLIUM connects schools with practicing educators, academic leaders, and researchers whose expertise spans instructional design, institutional policy, student innovation, governance, and the effects of AI on learning and development.

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CONSYLIUM
Partnership Model
Network & Focus Areas
Intelligent Academies
Research Partnerships
Speakers Bureau
Contact Us
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A monthly note on new research and practice concerning AI in independent schools.

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www.consylium.com/contact-us
Suggested Citation

CONSYLIUM. (2026). The Measure of Learning: How independent schools are navigating AI through policy, pedagogy, and innovation. https://www.consylium.com

© 2026 CONSYLIUM. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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