ACSI Research Fellow Program

Christian Schools Are Already Asking 

ACSI and Cardus examined AI adoption among Christian schools through a 2023 survey of ACSI member educators. The findings revealed a familiar tension. That is, educators saw genuine potential in AI while remaining cautious about its impact on students. About 87% agreed that AI could help teachers save time and effort, while 60% believed it could help create more effective curriculum and lesson plans. At the same time, educators identified concerns around ethics and cheating, the development of creative and critical thinking, safety and privacy, and students' faith and values. Only 18% said their school had banned student use of AI. 

ACSI's current AI resources continue to explore how AI can support Christ-centered education while encouraging school leaders and teachers to consider its implications from a biblical perspective. The message is not that Christian schools must choose between technological progress and educational conviction. It is that technology needs to remain subordinate to the purpose of education. 

The question is not whether AI can do it; it is whether it should. 

AI can produce a lesson plan in seconds. That does not automatically make the lesson better. It can write an essay. That does not mean the student has learned to construct an argument. 

It can generate differentiated activities. That does not mean it understands the particular students sitting in front of a teacher. 

And it can answer a question about faith. That does not make it a substitute for Scripture, pastoral care, discipleship, prayer, or a trusted adult who knows the student personally. 

This distinction is increasingly reflected in broader education guidance. The U.S. Department of Education has identified potential uses of AI in areas including personalized learning, differentiated instruction, and administrative efficiency, while emphasizing responsible implementation and educator involvement. UNESCO has similarly called for a human-centered approach that addresses privacy, safety, equity, and governance alongside AI's educational potential. 

For Christian schools, there is another question to add. That is, does the use of AI create more capacity for educators to do their work well, or does it gradually remove the human judgment that gives that work meaning? 

Where Does AI Belong? 

Some of AI's most practical educational applications are not the most visible. They involve the work surrounding teaching, such as organizing curriculum information, reducing repetitive documentation, connecting standards with lessons, and helping educators maintain current curriculum records. These tasks matter, but they can consume considerable professional time. 

A teacher may already know what students need to learn and how she wants to teach it. The administrative work comes afterward, including documenting the lesson, connecting it to standards, organizing resources, and keeping curriculum information current. This is where AI can assist without becoming the educational decision-maker. 

The principle is straightforward; technology can reduce the work around curriculum documentation without taking ownership of the curriculum decisions. 

A Model Taking Root in ACSI Schools 

Curriculum management in a Christian school is about more than storing maps. School leaders need to see how learning develops across grades and subjects, where standards and learning outcomes are addressed, where gaps or unnecessary repetition exist, and how the instructional program reflects the school's educational philosophy. They also need curriculum information to remain current enough to support continuous improvement and accreditation. 

Edusfere's model is built around that connected view. Its existing work with ACSI schools emphasizes moving from static curriculum maps and disconnected documents toward a living curriculum that can be reviewed and improved throughout the year. 

AI fits into that picture as a supporting capability, not as the authority over what a school should teach. 

What Should Stay Human? 

For Christian school leaders, several boundaries deserve particular attention. Student formation is one. A machine can provide information, but it cannot replace the relationships through which students encounter patience, accountability, compassion, humility, and faith. A teacher's presence is part of the educational experience, not an inefficiency waiting to be automated. 

Learning is another boundary. AI can support brainstorming, feedback, and practice. But when it consistently does the thinking, writing, or problem-solving for students, the school risks evaluating a finished product without seeing the learning that produced it. 

The integrity question therefore goes beyond detecting AI-generated assignments. Christian schools have an opportunity to teach students why intellectual honesty matters even when technology makes dishonesty easier. Professional judgment also matters. A curriculum system may reveal that a standard appears repeatedly across courses. AI can help surface that pattern. But deciding whether the repetition is appropriate, whether students are developing mastery, or the curriculum reflects the school's educational philosophy, requires people who understand the context. 

Student data needs a clear boundary. Schools should establish what information may be entered into AI systems and what must remain protected. Privacy and responsible governance need to be part of the adoption decision from the beginning, not added later. 

Before You Say Yes to AI 

Not every task AI can handle is a task it should handle. For Christian schools, the better question is whether a particular use of AI strengthens teaching and learning without taking judgment out of human hands.  

These five questions can help school leaders draw that line. 

Modern curriculum management does not require every classroom to look the same. A coherent curriculum can establish shared expectations around essential learning, standards, progression, and assessment while preserving teachers' professional flexibility. The same principle applies to AI. 

Schools can establish clear expectations for responsible use without scripting every teacher's practice. Leaders can decide where AI is appropriate while allowing educators to exercise judgment in the classroom. That distinction is particularly important in Christian education because curriculum is connected to a school's philosophy and mission. Technology can make those connections easier to see. It cannot determine what those connections should be. 

Where Should the Line Be? 

Christian schools do not need to become either enthusiastic adopters or blanket opponents of AI. They can begin with a few practical questions. 

What educational problem are we trying to solve? Does AI genuinely address it? What part of the process requires professional judgment? What student data is involved? And does technology create more capacity for the people responsible for educating and forming students? 

Those questions shift the conversation from technology adoption to educational stewardship. 

The resulting principle is simple. Use technology where it removes unnecessary friction but keeps purpose, judgment, and relationships firmly human. For a school that treats curriculum as a living expression of its mission, that boundary is not a limitation. It is a way of protecting what matters most. 

The Opportunity Ahead 

The Christian school of the future will not necessarily be the one using the most AI, nor the one using the least. It may be the school that can explain clearly why it uses AI in some places and deliberately chooses not to use it in others. 

ACSI schools in more than 10 countries are already using Edusfere to bring curriculum mapping and management into a more connected, visible, and continuously improving environment. The next step is not about giving AI more authority. It is about using technology thoughtfully enough to give educators more room for theirs. 

The question for school leaders is no longer whether AI will become part of education. It is whether your curriculum infrastructure is ready to use AI without losing sight of the people, principles, and mission it was built to serve. 

What could your teachers do with the time and attention recovered from curriculum work that never needed to be manual in the first place?  

This may be the most important AI question for your school.

Edusfere, a partner of ACSI, offers a curriculum management platform that brings curriculum mapping, lesson planning, standards alignment, resources, and curriculum visibility together.