AI in Education Symposium

A Regional Convening on AI Across the K-16+ Continuum

Friday, September 11, 2026 • Florida SouthWestern State College • Fort Myers, FL

~200

Leading Educators in the Room

7

Regional Institutions

4

Thematic Areas

1

Day of Regional Conversation

About the Symposium

Artificial intelligence is reshaping classrooms, campuses, and careers across Southwest Florida — often faster than any single school, district, or institution can respond alone. The AI in Education Symposium brings together educators, administrators, and leaders from across the region for a day of shared dialogue about what AI means for teaching, learning, and student readiness at every level.
This is a closed, invitation-only convening of the Southwest Florida Alliance of Educational Leaders (SWFAEL) — bringing the region's decision-makers into one room, for one day, around one question.

Convened By SWFAEL

Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)
Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW)
Charlotte County Public Schools
Collier County Public Schools
Glades County Public Schools
Hendry County Public Schools
Lee County Public Schools

Why This Symposium

AI is no longer a future consideration for education, it's a present reality. Students are already using it. Educators are already navigating it. But conversations about what that means tend to happen in isolation: within a single school, a single department, a single institution.

This symposium creates a rare cross-level space for K-12 and higher education professionals to compare notes, surface shared challenges, and begin building a common understanding of AI's role in education across our region.

A single day of aligned regional thinking on AI is worth more than a year of separate conversations. What's built here doesn't stay in the room — it shapes how seven institutions move forward, together, on the question every one of them is already facing alone.

The Four Themes

The day's dialogue is organized around four thematic areas, developed collaboratively by the planning committee to reflect the most pressing and productive conversations happening across the region.

AI Literacy and Skills Development

What does it mean to be AI-literate at each stage of a student's education — and how do we build that literacy across the K–16+ continuum, from elementary foundations to professional fluency?

Pedagogical Integration of AI in the Classroom

How can AI support rather than replace student thinking? This theme explores intentional classroom design that helps AI function as a genuine thinking partner rather than a shortcut.

Workforce Readiness

As AI reshapes the skills employers are looking for, what does readiness look like at every level of education — and how do our region's schools, colleges, and university work together to prepare students for what's ahead?

Ethical AI Use and Responsible Implementation

From data privacy to academic integrity to equitable access, this theme brings the region's leaders together to think through the responsibilities that come with AI adoption — and to make space for thoughtful caution alongside innovation.

Event Format

Participants will move through the day together, engaging with all four themes through a mix of large-group framing and small-group facilitated discussion, co-led by pairs of K-12 and higher education representatives.

The day includes a working lunch and closes with a facilitated dialogue among institutional leadership, reflecting on what emerged and identifying next steps for regional collaboration.

Schedule

Detailed schedule and session information is tentative until the day of the event , please check back for updates.

Time	Event	Description
8:00am- 9:00am	Registration, Breakfast & Networking	Check in, enjoy a continental breakfast, and connect with colleagues from across the region's K-12 districts, state colleges, universities, and workforce community.
9:00am- 9:20am	Welcome & Framing	Opening remarks will establish the purpose of the symposium and introduce the four themes that will guide the day's conversations. Participants will also learn how the facilitated breakout sessions will work and how insights from across the groups will contribute to the day's closing discussion.
9:20am- 10:05am	Opening Keynote	Carrie Meyers and Jim Reynolds Florida State University Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education Carrie Meyers and Jim Reynolds will open the symposium by exploring the opportunities, tensions, and emerging questions surrounding AI across K-12 education, higher education, and the workforce. Their keynote will provide a broad foundation for the day's conversations, inviting participants to consider how decisions made at one point in the educational continuum influence students, educators, institutions, and employers throughout the region.
10:05am- 10:30am	Setting the Stage: AI Literacy & Pedagogical Strategies	Two brief presentations will introduce the morning's themes and establish shared language for the conversations that follow. Participants will consider what AI literacy means across different educational levels and how AI is influencing teaching, learning, assessment, and the development of critical human capacities.
10:30am– 10:35am	Transition to Breakout Rooms	Participants will move to their assigned breakout rooms. Each group will include participants representing different institutions and educational levels.
10:35am–11:15am	Thematic Block 1: AI Literacy & Skills Development	Facilitated conversations will explore what students need to understand about AI at different stages of their education, where AI literacy is already developing, and where gaps or opportunities may exist across the K-16 continuum.
11:15am– 11:20am	Transition	A brief reset before the next facilitated conversation.
11:20am– 12:00am	Thematic Block 2: Pedagogical Strategies	Participants will explore how AI is changing teaching and learning and consider what effective pedagogy looks like in an AI-influenced environment. The conversation will also consider how practices at one educational level may shape student expectations, skills, and readiness at the next.
12:00pm- 1:00pm	Working Lunch & Regional Leadership Dialogue	Enjoy lunch while continuing the conversation with colleagues from across the region. The working lunch will include a facilitated dialogue reflecting on ideas emerging from the morning sessions. Regional education leaders will be invited to join the conversation and consider the implications of what participants are hearing across institutions and educational levels.
1:00pm- 1:25pm	Setting the Stage: Workforce Readiness & Responsible AI	Two brief presentations will introduce the afternoon themes and provide shared context for the breakout discussions. Participants will consider how AI is changing workforce expectations and what responsible implementation requires from educational institutions, employers, educators, and leaders.
1:25pm– 1:30pm	Transition to Breakout Rooms	Participants return to their assigned breakout rooms.
1:30pm- 2:10pm	Thematic Block 3: Workforce Readiness	Anna Haney-Withrow Facilitated conversations will examine the skills and capabilities students will need in an AI-influenced workplace. Participants will consider the relationship among AI fluency, disciplinary expertise, critical thinking, human judgment, and the evolving needs of the regional workforce.
2:10pm– 2:15pm	Transition	A brief reset before the final breakout conversation.
2:15pm- 2:55pm	Thematic Block 4: Ethical & Responsible AI	Dr. Rebecca Harris Participants will explore the ethical and practical questions institutions face as AI becomes increasingly embedded in educational and workplace environments. Topics may include responsible use, access, privacy, policy, implementation, and the role institutions play in preparing students to make thoughtful decisions about AI.
2:55pm– 3:10pm	Transition to Final Plenary	Participants return to the main gathering space while facilitators and keynote speakers organize insights from the breakouts to guide the closing session dialogue.
3:10pm– 4:00pm	Closing Plenary: From Conversation to Collaboration	The symposium will conclude by looking across the day's conversations rather than treating each theme in isolation. Carrie Meyers, Jim Reynolds, and symposium leaders will reflect on several of the strongest threads emerging across the four thematic discussions and consider what they might mean for Southwest Florida. Together, participants will explore a central question: How can K-12 districts, state colleges, universities, and workforce partners work more intentionally across the educational continuum as AI continues to reshape learning and work? The session will conclude with practical next steps and an invitation to continue the regional conversation beyond the symposium.
4:00pm	Adjourn	Closing thank-yous and optional informal networking.

Who Should Attend

Each participating institution is sending its own delegation — teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, and faculty selected to represent the full span of the region's public education system, from elementary classrooms through the university level.

If you're interested in attending, please reach out to your institution's representative on the planning committee.

Planning Committee Representatives

Institution	Contact
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)	Tiffany Reynolds
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)	Leandro de Castro
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)	Christina McCaw
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)	Bill Reynolds
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)	Kim Fournier
Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW)	Jason Dudley
Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW)	Anna Haney-Withrow
Charlotte County Public Schools	Matt Kunder
Collier County Public Schools	Melanie Fike
Glades County Public Schools	Amber Sumeralls
Hendry County Public Schools	Roberto Sanchez
Lee County Public Schools	Nathan Shaker
Lee County Public Schools	Dwayne Alton