Case Study · Education

Warren County School District

Executive leadership team: Pre-Beginner to Low-Intermediate AI literacy in 8 weeks.

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Client

Client at a glance

Organization

Warren County School District, Ohio

Cohort

Executive Leadership Team (N=30)

Organizational Scale

2,900 employees (teachers, administrators, staff)

Timeline

August – October 2025 · 8 weeks · 4 hours of instruction

Context

The opportunity

Before training began, the leadership team's baseline showed awareness without fluency. The cohort recognized AI tools existed and had experimented with basic use cases, but lacked conceptual understanding, systematic workflows, and governance frameworks for compliant usage.

Baseline concerns

63% concerned about AI accuracy and reliability
46% worried about student data privacy
38% worried about time required to learn
36% entered training with no clear expectations
12% expressed apprehension or resistance
No district governance policies in place

Delivery

RUDI's approach: three-phase evolution

Baseline Assessment

August 2025

Pre-training survey (N=24) mapped to RUDI's AI Literacy Matrix. Mapped three competency domains: Conceptual Understanding, Operational Proficiency, Governance & Ethics.

Session 1: Foundations & Psychological Safety

September 18, 2025 · 2 hours

Normalized uncertainty ("92% of AI pilots are failing — you're not behind"). Started with "why" before "what." Presented participants' own survey results as anchor. Live hands-on demonstrations.

Session 2: Application & Skill Development

October 16, 2025 · 2 hours

Task-based learning anchored to real work (OTES teacher evaluations, calendar management). Explicit skill instruction (prompt structure, iteration, refinement). Introduced systems thinking: workflows, prompt libraries, automation.

Results

Measured outcomes

In 8 weeks and 4 instructional hours, the cohort moved from Pre-Beginner/Beginner baseline to Beginner/Low-Intermediate operational readiness.

Apprehension at Session 2

down from 12%

70%

Sought practical application

up from 20% — a 250% increase

50%

Requested advanced training

from foundational overview

Uncertainty at Session 2

down from 36% at Session 1

In Their Own Words

Hear from Warren County participants

Three participants reflect on the RUDI training — how their work has changed, what they're using AI for now, and what it was like learning with Brandon.

Kim 1:22

"The projects have brought it all together. I can use ChatGPT for the things I use frequently — it's made everything more efficient."

Michael 1:41

"ChatGPT does the work, I do the thinking. I'm learning a whole new way to really effectively use ChatGPT."

Kara 1:06

"There's always something I want to try and experiment with after each session. It's been very beneficial."

Takeaway

The takeaway

Warren County demonstrates that rapid, measurable AI literacy development is achievable when training prioritizes adult learning principles over technical content delivery.

The transformation was not about AI technology — it was about meeting adult learners at their emotional and cognitive readiness level, then scaffolding them systematically toward competence and confidence. Technical mastery was subordinated to psychological safety and immediate utility.

"This is not a story of technology adoption. This is a story of adult learners moving from fear to fluency — and that journey is replicable."

Get Started

Want this for your state coordination hub?

If your ESC network, workforce system, or state AI council is working on AI readiness at scale, RUDI is ready to be named as your training and deployment partner.

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