Owning the Future: How Perry County Schools Joined the Next Wave of Private AI in K–12

What We Built in Perry County

Within the first three hours of setup, we created several custom GPTs to jump-start their AI ecosystem:

• Student Data Bot – helps district leaders interpret state data and identify trends

• Policy Bot – trained on Perry County’s own policies to provide immediate clarity for staff

• Leader Evaluation Bot – supports administrators in walkthroughs and observations

Each tool runs inside the district’s private AI environment.
Each tool is secure.
Each tool is theirs.

Owning the data, the infrastructure, and the tools gives districts the confidence they need to innovate without fear or compromise.

The Road Ahead

From my vantage point—working with state agencies, superintendents, IT directors, and building leaders across the country—the trend is unmistakable:

District-owned AI infrastructure will become standard practice.

It gives schools stability.
It gives them agency.
And it gives them a foundation to build the future on.

With five servers now deployed and more on the way, districts like Perry County are showing what readiness looks like in 2025 and beyond.

Want to Explore Private AI for Your District?

If you’re a superintendent, principal, IT director, or leadership team looking to understand what private AI could mean for your schools, I’m always happy to connect.

This work is moving quickly—and those who build the foundation now will be the ones shaping what comes next.