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Founded by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and its affiliate the United Federation of Teachers in partnership with Microsoft, Open AI, and Anthropic, the National Academy for AI Instruction will provide access to free training and curriculum on artificial intelligence (AI) for all 1.8 million members of the AFT.

“AI holds tremendous promise but huge challenges—and it’s our job as educators to make sure AI serves our students and society, not the other way around,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “The direct connection between a teacher and their kids can never be replaced by new technologies, but if we learn how to harness it, set commonsense guardrails and put teachers in the driver’s seat, teaching and learning can be enhanced.”

Training 10% of U.S. educators on AI in 5 years

With $23 million in funding from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic and based in a state-of-the-art facility in New York City, the National Academy for AI Instruction will serve as a hub for AI education, equipped with cutting-edge technology and operated under the leadership of the AFT and a coalition of public and private stakeholders.

The academy will begin instruction in the autumn of 2025 with a view to expand nationwide in the next few years. Over five years, the academy aims to support 400,000 educators—approximately 10 percent of the U.S. teaching workforce—reaching more than 7.2 million students.

At the new AI Academy, teachers will not just learn to use AI—they will co-design tools, offer feedback to developers, and help shape how the technology is implemented in classrooms across the country.

Designed by leading AI experts and experienced educators, the programme will include workshops, online courses and hands-on training sessions, ensuring that teachers are well-equipped to navigate an AI-driven future. It will bring together interdisciplinary research teams to drive innovation in AI education and establish a national model for AI-integrated teaching environments. Finally, the academy will provide ongoing support and resources to help educators stay updated with the latest advancements in AI. Innovation labs and feedback cycles will ensure these tools are refined based on actual classroom experiences.

Training will be made widely accessible through Share My Lesson, the AFT’s digital learning platform.

First ever collaboration between education union and tech companies driven by the needs of educators

Speaking about the origins of this initiative, the AFT President noted that with AI quickly becoming ubiquitous in many aspects of life, it was never a question whether AI would fundamentally transform our world—the question was “whether we would be chasing it or whether we would be trying to harness it. If educators, school staff and their unions aren’t involved in shaping this technology, then others, who may not share our values or priorities, will make those decisions for us.”

By initiating the collaboration with leading artificial intelligence companies, the EI member organisation created the first ever partnership between a union and tech companies on AI, and it aims to carve out a leading role for teachers in the Academy and reaffirmed teacher leadership in the future of education.

“Teachers must be in charge of education—not the tool, not the machine,” Weingarten stressed. “We’re choosing the GPS system, not the driverless car, so that we can navigate it, we can harness it, we can use it for the good that AI is supposed to be. But we can also make sure we have the guardrails we need to protect the safety and security of kids.”