The Five Frictions Impeding AI Adoption in Private Schools as 2025 Comes to a Close
Empowered Enrollment Team
What a year it’s been for all things AI.
New AI models and version releases. Leaps forward in voice, image, and video generation. AI in search results. Web browser integration. Advances in core work tools and autonomous agents. AI wrist bands, pendants, and glasses. The proliferation of AI notetakers (the kudzu of digital life). And Apple still without a clear AI strategy.
Despite the blistering pace of AI adoption in the business world, buy-in among independent and faith-based schools (never slaves to fashion) is lumpy at best. Increasingly, school leaders are leaning in; just look at the slate of keynotes and breakouts for nearly every education conference in 2025 and what’s on deck for 2026. But many are still hanging out in the far right lane of the AI superhighway, with some still trying to work up the courage to charge the on-ramp.
As we wind down 2025, I see five friction points that are slowing AI integration in independent and faith-based schools.
Friction 1: Teams lack clarity, alignment, and autonomy.
Leadership and department heads aren’t on the same page regarding AI implementation. The perspectives vary widely. In recent months, I’ve heard one Head of School dismiss AI out of hand (“Ha! AI? Emphasis on artificial!”) and noted the furtive, sidelong glances among executive team members. I’ve heard a high school principal express amusement and consternation at seeing enrollment and tuition numbers when he queried his school on ChatGPT for the first time (“What? These are pre-COVID numbers! Where did this come from?”). I’ve heard multiple marketing and admissions team members confess to using their personal ChatGPT accounts because they can’t get a paid version approved by their IT department. And I’ve seen well-intentioned AI Task Forces mired in wordsmithing AI policies. Of course, some school leaders are pushing their teams to adopt AI and loosening the reins, but many still haven’t had the necessary conversations needed to leverage AI effectively. They’re content to peddle along on beach cruisers when they’re actually sitting on e-bikes with exponentially more power.
Friction 2: SIS platforms are impenetrable walled gardens.
The big players in School Information Systems (SIS) are uber protective of their data. Many do not have APIs (secure access points that allow third parties to interact with the platform), and those that do support APIs have significant limitations. Most SIS platforms are essentially walled gardens, lovely for the people on the inside but opaque and impenetrable to outsiders, even when those in the garden want to invite trusted partners to access specific segments of their information landscape. The issue extends beyond access; it also impacts a school’s ability to migrate to another platform. Many SIS and website providers are essentially the Hotel California of school world. Thanks to iron-clad, multi-year contracts, once you’re in, good luck getting out. So schools are, to varying degrees, throttled by their SIS and website provider’s pace of AI adoption. Of course, some of these platform providers are sprinkling AI functionality into their systems, but they can’t be all things to all people. In trying to do (nearly) everything, they shoehorn users into bloated, clunky functionality that an increasing number of customers use through gritted teeth. In the emerging age of AI, integration with purpose-built third-party tools through well-developed APIs should be the norm, not the exception. That leads us to the third friction point.
Friction 3: The AI tools aren’t there yet.
There are still very few purpose-built AI tools for schools that have gained widespread adoption. The tools that I’m seeing are largely focused on the academic side of the house, but the operational side is lagging. I think this is due in part to a lack of clarity among school leaders about where and how to apply AI beyond the ChatGPT window. The market will need to provide leadership for schools to understand what’s possible. Of course, the business world is grappling with this reality, but the profit motive drives them to find solutions more quickly. In school world, maintaining the status quo is…well, status quo. With no sense of urgency among school leaders, the onus is on the vendor/partner side to demonstrate compelling use cases for purpose-built AI tools. That is to say, school leaders aren’t shopping for AI tools they don’t know they need. But we will inevitably work through this friction as schools get traction through AI experimentation and word-of-mouth creates curiosity (and envy).
Friction 4: Schools have not come to grips with AI’s influence in the family journey.
Families are turning to AI for answers, not options. More and more traffic will be coming to school sites from AI platforms. Browsers are integrating AI into not just search, but website scanning and comprehension. Beyond the awareness phase, families are using AI to fill out applications and prepare for interviews. Some parents (and students) are showing up with AI wearables, recording and videoing the conversation. And schools are in reaction mode. Marketing and admissions teams need to rethink and rewire their promotional strategies and application processes to account for the emerging dynamics of AI in the family journey.
Friction 5: Schools have not clearly defined their Sources of Truth.
Over time, a school’s total repository of digital information becomes a massive, sprawling expanse of documents, files, images, emails, and webpages — most of which become woefully outdated as the years go by. When taken as a whole, the data are a hodgepodge of conflicting signals. It’s no wonder that AI hallucinates when dealing with even the most basic questions and tasks. Leveraging AI is not merely a matter of connecting to the right folders, systems, or websites. To get real traction with AI, internally and externally, schools need to define and optimize their Source of Truth. Said differently, AI success is a matter of taxonomy, not just technology. What are the foundational decisions, commitments, documents, and data sources that accurately reflect a school’s identity and position in the marketplace? Increasingly, how schools address this question will inform how they show up externally to outsiders using AI and how effectively their team members leverage AI internally.
While not an exhaustive list, these five frictions in AI adoption in 2025 will likely persist well into the new year and beyond. Some of these sticking points are beyond school leaders’ control, but not entirely.
- First, Heads of School, division, and department leads need to decide to make AI a strategic priority (not just in the classroom, but across leadership, enrollment, and administrative functions).
- Second, they need to pressure their SIS providers to provide secure, flexible APIs so they can leverage their data outside of the walled gardens.
- Third, they need to be willing to test new AI platforms and applications.
- Fourth, they need to give Marketing and Admissions the budget and latitude to evaluate how AI can enhance the Family Journey (Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Evaluation, and Advocacy).
- And finally, school leaders must identify and optimize their Sources of Truth.
AI is not optional. It’s an imperative. Independent and faith-based schools that take intentional steps to address this reality will position themselves to achieve substantial and sustainable gains in 2026 and beyond.
In January, I’ll write another piece discussing what I see regarding AI advances and opportunities in 2026 for independent and faith-based schools. Until then, stop thinking about this stuff until next year. You’ve earned a break. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your friends at Tassel!
Contributing Voices
