More than 200 Fairfax County Public Schools teachers, instructional leads and technology specialists spent Thursday learning how to use artificial intelligence in their daily work at a free, full-day workshop hosted at Marshall High School.

Superintendent Michelle Reid dropped by the OpenAI Skills Jam for K-12 Educators during lunch and described the energy in her Weekly Reflections newsletter. The hands-on session, organized by OpenAI Academy and the Walton Family Foundation, is part of a national summer series training more than 1,600 educators across eight U.S. cities, according to OpenAI's announcement.

"Staff left with at least one practical way to use ChatGPT's Codex in their daily work with an emphasis on supporting, not replacing, the care, knowledge, and expertise they bring to students every day," Reid wrote.

The workshop covered lesson planning, parent and staff communications, and streamlining administrative tasks. Participants worked alongside OpenAI mentors and gained access to OpenAI Academy, a free online platform for continued learning after the in-person event.

District's AI partnership runs through 2027

FCPS is not new to the collaboration. In November 2025, OpenAI selected the district as one of roughly a dozen nationwide to receive free access to a secured version of ChatGPT built for educators and school leaders, according to a Washington Post report published in 2025.

The July 9 workshop was open to all FCPS staff; the district has not published school-level attendance data, so it is unclear how many teachers from McLean High School, Langley High School, or Cooper Middle School participated.

A Walton Family Foundation and Gallup study found that teachers who use AI tools at least weekly self-report saving an average of 5.9 hours per week. OpenAI cited that research in its Skills Jam announcement, noting the savings could amount to approximately six weeks over a full school year.

The 2026-27 FCPS school year begins Monday, August 24.