2026 New Year’s Resolutions for Educators

Author

Merissa Sadler-Holder
January 06, 2026

2026 New Year’s Resolutions for Educators

As educators, we don’t need more initiatives.
We need clearer intentions.

Here’s what many of us are committing to as we head into 2026.

In 2026, we ARE going to:

⇢ Use AI as a thinking partner, not a shortcut, for planning, feedback, differentiation, and creativity.
⇢ Protect our time by saying no to busywork that doesn’t meaningfully impact student learning.
⇢ Trust our professional judgment and expertise while remaining open to learning from one another.
⇢ Model ethical, transparent AI use so students learn how to think with tools, not use them in secrecy.
⇢ Center student voice and human connection, because relationships still matter more than any tool.

In 2026, we are NOT going to:

⇢ Use AI detectors, because they are unreliable, inequitable, and can put teachers and students at risk.
⇢ Make decisions about AI from a place of fear or hype. Instead, we’ll focus on understanding different viewpoints and finding balanced, informed approaches.
⇢ Expect teachers to “figure it out” alone without time, ongoing training, and support.
⇢ Pretend AI doesn’t exist while students are already navigating it.
⇢ Confuse compliance with learning. Real learning is thoughtful, human, and nuanced.

✨ 2026 is the year we move from AI anxiety to AI agency, with educators firmly in the driver’s seat.

To support this work, I’ve gathered my free, educator-centered AI resources in one place. These include practical tools, templates, and frameworks you can use right away as you navigate AI in 2026. Start there, hit reply if you have questions!

If your school or district is looking for thought partners to help navigate a balanced, educator-centered approach to AI in 2026, I’d love to connect. You can hit reply to this email or sign up for a coffee chat to talk things through together.

We’d love to help you build clarity, confidence, and a collaborative path forward by using the AI Coherence Cycle that Danelle Almaraz and I developed to support schools and districts in taking a sustained, systems-level approach to AI that aligns with instructional priorities, LCAP goals, and community values. You can explore the framework here!

What would you add to this list?

Cheers to a great new year.
We’ve got this.

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K 👋 baiii besties!

Need meaningful AI professional development through the Teaching with Machines Learning Journeys for your staff and teachers?

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I love reading your feedback, it helps me design effective solutions for others. I respond to all my emails. Just hit reply to this email. Rooting for you and your students! Love, M.

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