The Living Lab @ WLA
Washington Leadership Academy (WLA) serves as the Living Lab for the DC AI Collaborative, where ideas about artificial intelligence in education are tested, refined, and grounded in real classrooms.
The Living Lab connects research, practice, and community voice to ensure that AI integration is instructional, responsible, and rooted in the lived experiences of students and educators.
What We Mean by a Living Lab
A Living Lab is not a pilot in isolation or a showcase of tools. It is an active learning environment where educators design, test, and reflect on AI-supported instructional practices as part of their everyday work.
At WLA, classrooms function as spaces for inquiry:
- Teachers experiment with AI to support planning, assessment, differentiation, and feedback
- Students engage with AI transparently and critically as part of their learning
- Educators reflect on impact, tradeoffs, and unintended consequences
This approach ensures that what the Collaborative shares is grounded in real conditions, not idealized scenarios.
Why Washington Leadership Academy?
WLA is uniquely positioned to serve as the Living Lab for the DC AI Collaborative.
- First school in Washington, DC to offer a four-year computer science sequence
- Ongoing redesign of its computer science program to integrate AI literacy and foundational AI development skills
- Deep commitment to equity-centered innovation in a Title I, predominantly Black and brown student community
- Proven experience integrating emerging technologies into instruction in ways that strengthen, rather than disrupt, learning
WLA’s work demonstrates what is possible when AI integration is guided by pedagogy, values, and trust.
Digital Trailblazers: Lessons from a School on the Frontier of Artificial Intelligence
FutureEd, a nonpartisan think tank at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, profiled WLA’s classrooms and its approach to responsible AI in education.
Read the Article →