AI Doesn't Replace Leaders — It Helps Leaders Think Faster and Act Earlier

• By Brett Roer, Senior Director of AI Innovation and Professional Development at CITE Former New York City Bronx Public High School Principal

Every day at dismissal, I stood on the corner of Pugsley Avenue and Lafayette Avenue outside Bronx Compass High School.

Not because it was required. Not because it was in my job description. Because I wanted to look every parent in the eye and tell them that I personally made sure their child safely left our campus that day. I knew that was something most principals could not say. I also knew it meant delaying the work waiting for me back in my office. But it created something that no email, no memo, no policy document could ever build: trust.

Standing on that corner every afternoon gave me the chance to engage with every student daily, to show them they mattered, and to have the kind of real conversations outside the building that strengthened our relationships in ways that carried into the classroom.

It also meant that the operational work of being a principal followed me home every single night. During a season when my wife and I had a newborn at home, I was writing observation reports, responding to superintendent requests, drafting parent communications, and building professional development agendas at the kitchen table after midnight because I refused to sacrifice the human moments during the school day to get paperwork done faster.

I chose humanity first. Every time. I do not regret it.

But it cost me something. It cost my family something.

That is the tension at the center of school leadership that almost nobody talks about honestly. The leaders who are most present for their communities are often the ones who carry the heaviest load home with them. The leaders who prioritize relationships over efficiency are often the ones whose own well-being suffers the most.

That is the reality that AI has the potential to meaningfully address. Not by making decisions for leaders, but by helping leaders think through complexity faster, access relevant information earlier, and create the space to be more intentional about the decisions that matter most.

This is the vision behind CITE’s AI Leadership Academy.

We are not teaching principals how to use ChatGPT. We are building a framework for how school and district leaders can integrate AI into their leadership practice in ways that are responsible, ethical, and grounded in the human relationships that make schools work.

What does that look like in practice?

It looks like a principal using AI to draft initial communication to families after a safety incident, freeing up 45 minutes to actually be present in the hallways and classrooms where their visibility matters most.

It looks like a district leader using AI to synthesize walkthrough data across 15 schools, surfacing instructional patterns that would have taken a week to identify manually, then using that time to have coaching conversations instead of data analysis sessions.

It looks like an assistant principal using AI to build a professional development agenda based on the specific feedback their superintendent gave during a PPO. Not a generic template, but a targeted plan that demonstrates responsiveness and growth.

It looks like a principal who stands on a street corner at dismissal every single day being able to go home at a reasonable hour because the work that used to take three hours at the kitchen table now takes forty-five minutes.

In every case, the leader is still making the decision. The leader is still building the relationship. The leader is still doing the work.

AI just gives them back the time and mental bandwidth to do it better, without sacrificing the human moments that define who they are as leaders.

The mistake most AI professional development makes in education is starting with the tool. Starting with the prompt. Starting with the platform.

CITE starts with the leader.

What are you carrying right now? What is creating cognitive overload? Where are you spending time on tasks that pull you away from the people and decisions that need you most? What are you bringing home with you at night that keeps you from being fully present with your own family?

Those are the entry points. Once a leader identifies them, AI becomes not a novelty but a genuine leadership asset. Not a replacement for humanity, but a way to protect it.

I wish I had access to AI tools during those years in the Bronx. Not so I could skip standing on that corner. I would never skip that. So that standing on that corner would not have meant choosing between being the leader my school community needed and being the father my newborn son deserved to have home at a reasonable hour.

No principal should have to make that choice. The leaders who put humanity first should not be penalized for it.

On March 26th, the CITE Spring Gala will bring together over 200 education leaders who are navigating this exact reality. Superintendents, principals, doctoral graduates, teachers, and counselors who are leading schools and districts across New York City and beyond.

This is the community that is doing this work. Not talking about it. Doing it.
CITE is developing the leaders who will carry it forward.

✨ Join us as we recognize Carla and other inspiring honorees at the CITE Night of Impact Gala.

📅 March 26, 2026 | 🕔 5:00 PM |📍 Terrace on the Park | Queens, NY
🎟 Click here for tickets: https://citegala2026.eventbrite.com/🏫 Schools paying via PO: $100 tickets | $1,000 tables | 📧 Questions: John@citeprograms.com