Artificial intelligence (AI) is entering Czech schools significantly faster than the processes and methodologies in the system are prepared for. Many institutions today face a dilemma: while individual teachers experiment with tools in their teaching or use them to simplify their administration, school management often lacks a well-thought-out strategy, how to integrate AI into the operation of the entire organization. This pilot project responds to this need. AI Accelerator for Schools, which shows that real transformation is not just about technology, but about complex organizational, pedagogical and cultural change.

What is AI Accelerator: School Change as a Process

The project behind the organization AI for children is based on the belief that schools need consciously manage the change process. Six different types of schools were selected for the pilot phase, including Palachova Primary School in Ústí nad Labem, where a two-year transformation scenario is being tested. The entire process is structured into six key areas that have the potential to transform the functioning of the school as a whole:

1. Teacher development: Setting up digital literacy for the confident and meaningful use of generative AI in practice.
2. School culture and communication: Mapping and developing an environment to foster trust and openness to learning.
3. Evaluation methodology: Using data and AI to support formative assessment and feedback.
4. Administration: Identify and automate routine activities that save time for both management and teachers.
5. The school's educational strategy: Supporting leaders in strategy creation using data tools.
6. Inclusions: Personalized student support and preparation of differentiated materials using AI.

The role of a change leader: The engine of transformation at Palachova Elementary School

Change in the project is not managed "from above" by external experts, but through the so-called. leader of change – a key person within the school who functions as an internal engine of innovation. At Palachova Elementary School, this role is held by Renata Wolff, who describes her experience as a process of "translating" visions into reality.

In her daily practice, Renata handles everything from organizing field trips to conducting extensive questionnaire surveys, focusing on school culture, for example. She admits that the time commitment is variable and comes in waves. She always faces the biggest pressure when opening a new area, which consists of a full-day meeting of the participating schools in Prague. Then comes the preparation phase in each individual school. In the most stressful moments, artificial intelligence also helps her: „Assistive technologies, including AI, help me manage the administrative burden so that I can focus more on what is important – how to sensitively introduce changes into our school life.“.

However, the key pillar for her is mentoring. Regular contact with a mentor (at Palachova Primary School this is Radek Spata) gives her confidence. "The feeling that I'm not alone, that he'll pull me out of every dead end if needed, is priceless. Mentoring gives me a different perspective and teaches me to approach problems with a calm head," she adds.

The Story of One School: From Experiment to System

Palachova Elementary School entered the project with the vision of preparing students for the job market, which AI will fundamentally transform. According to school principal Marek Plch Work with technologies before the project was rather haphazard and there was no platform for sharing.

However, according to the change leader, the initial curiosity and desire to try new things naturally prevailed over concerns at Palachova Elementary School. The reactions of colleagues were very positive from the beginning and many actively offered to lend a helping hand. This contributed to the fact that the young and enthusiastic team pulled together and perceived AI and modern technologies in general not as a threat, but as a great opportunity.

The turning point came when it was confirmed that the school had excellent foundations. Both Renata Wolff and Marek Plch agree that the project gave the school a healthy sense of self-confidence. „I personally felt a deeper change when I saw how the teachers themselves began to take an active interest and share tips. A kind of contagious curiosity began to spread,“ describes the school principal.

Today, things are done differently at Palachova Elementary School. The school is much more actively involved in the school parliament and gives children a space to express their opinions about the school's operations. The so-called "teachers' council" has become a symbol of informal teacher education. DigiCafe. "Paradoxically, we didn't address the biggest resistance with technology, but with biorhythm, because we meet an hour before class. But we found that good coffee and something sweet reliably break even the biggest morning barriers," smiles Mrs. Renata.

What has the pilot project shown so far?

The analysis of the first five months of intensive work has yielded several key findings that are transferable to any other school. Based on a combination of quantitative data and qualitative reflections, the following conclusions can be formulated:

• Motivation is not a barrier: The initial evaluation debunked the myth that teachers are resistant to technology. On average, 48 % educators entered the project with an attitude supportive of change.
• Technical equipment is not a decisive factor: Mentoring records repeatedly show that even with good hardware, pedagogical shift may not occur.
• Leadership is stronger than hardware: Schools with an active and strategically thinking principal show significantly faster stabilization of processes.
• The change is primarily organizational, not technological: Qualitative data shows that the project opened up topics such as teacher overload, lack of sharing, unclear processes, and fragmented responsibility for innovation.
• The integration of other projects requires institutional anchoring: The pilot showed that the implementation of tools cannot be done without a clear anchoring in the SEP, without a responsible person and without management support.
• Sharing between schools does not arise spontaneously: Although two joint offline meetings and ongoing communication have been held, the intensity of inter-school sharing has not yet reached its potential.
• The rules are about culture: The biggest tension between students and schools is not about AI, but about symbols of autonomy (such as cell phone rules), which confirms that without working on school culture, the full potential of technology cannot be realized.

Challenges and hardest moments

The transformation is not painless. The hardest part for schools remains combination of time and dates project with demanding daily operations. „Sometimes it’s really a rush – harmonizing teaching and managing outputs from individual areas in a given time requires a lot of effort,“ confirms Renata Wolff. The pilot phase at one of the participating schools also showed that personnel instability (e.g. the departure of a key leader) can significantly slow down the process, which requires that the project not be personified in just one person.

Another finding is that simply „presenting a tool“ (e.g. a financial literacy app) is not enough. Without a clear anchoring in the school or SEP strategy, its use remains solely an individual initiative.

If Marek Plch had the opportunity to do something differently in the project, he would probably have invested more intensively in internal communication and teacher involvement at the beginning. Although the reactions were generally positive, earlier and more systematic involvement of a wider circle of colleagues could have accelerated some of the sub-processes even more and created a stronger internal network for sharing. He would also have started defining small, concrete, pilot projects within the school earlier, so that tangible results would be available to everyone right from the start.

What's next?

The project is now moving into the next phases. In 2026–2027, schools will focus on automating administration, assessment methodology, and implementing the revised RVP. The goal is to create scalable model, which will help transform the functioning of one third of Czech primary schools by 2030.

If schools are to prepare children for a world with artificial intelligence, the way they operate must also change. The story of Palachova Elementary School in Ústí nad Labem shows that with a clear vision, the support of a mentor, and the courage to experiment, AI can be used as one of the tools for systematic school transformation.

Want to follow the further journey of our pilot schools? Explore the project website AI accelerator for schools and subscribe to the newsletter, which will keep you informed about all the news and important steps.

An important role in the involvement of Palachova Elementary School in the pilot project was also played by ICUK – Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region, specifically RUR project team (Region to the University, University of the Region). Based on the knowledge of the regional environment, work with schools and long-term support of entrepreneurship and innovative education, this school was selected as a suitable pilot for the implementation of the AI Accelerator project in the Ústí nad Labem Region. ICUK thus played the role of a liaison between the school and the AI for Children organization and contributed to starting this cooperation.

In the future, the partnership between ICUK, the RUR team and the AI dětem organization is expected to further develop, both in the area of implementing AI in schools and in other educational and innovative activities in the region. The aim is to transfer the acquired experience to other schools, systematically support the development of digital and entrepreneurial competences of students and contribute to the modernization of education in the Ústí nad Labem Region.

Text: Radek Špáta, AI for children and Tamara Klein, ICUK