https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/ Curated briefs on Mississippi education policy, classroom AI, robotics, funding, and school purchasing — every item linked to its original source. en-us https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-statewide-ai-framework/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-statewide-ai-framework/ On May 21, 2026, Mississippi announced the Mississippi Statewide AI Framework, a skills roadmap spanning K–12 education through career advancement. Developed by the AI Workforce Readiness Council with AccelerateMS and the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network, it organizes AI education around 11 core skill domains and is described as flexible guidance rather than a curriculum mandate. Delta read: “Future-ready” is a marketing phrase; the framework's named skill domains are not. Any AI product a Mississippi school considers should be mapped to specific framework competencies before purchase. mississippi Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-intro-to-genai-course/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-intro-to-genai-course/ The Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN) offers a free, self-paced, fully online Intro to GenAI course for K–12 educators, worth up to 6.4 continuing-education units at no cost, with ready-to-use lesson plans included. More than 1,000 educators enrolled in the most recent cycle, after more than 3,000 participated the year before. Delta read: Free, CEU-bearing AI training from a state-affiliated network is rare. Educators evaluating paid AI professional development should complete this baseline first. opportunities Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mde-ai-for-instruction-pilot/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mde-ai-for-instruction-pilot/ The Mississippi Department of Education launched the AI for Instruction Pilot, a free program helping teachers use generative AI to enhance instruction in three areas: 4th-grade science, middle school English Language Arts, and U.S. History. Principals applied by September 19; pilot districts were announced September 29. The tools featured are Google's Gemini and NotebookLM, with monthly ongoing support for selected teachers. Delta read: What the state tests today shapes district expectations — and purchasing — tomorrow. The pilot's chosen workflows are as informative as its chosen products. mississippi Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-ai-talent-accelerator/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-ai-talent-accelerator/ On June 12, 2025, Governor Reeves launched the Mississippi AI Talent Accelerator Program (MAI-TAP) — a partnership of AccelerateMS, the Mississippi Development Authority, and Amazon Web Services — announcing $9.1 million in grants to eight Mississippi colleges and universities to build AI and machine-learning capacity, from Mississippi State's $2.2 million to Belhaven's $390,000. Delta read: K–12 robotics and computer-science programs now have in-state pathways to point students toward. Expect growing district interest in platforms that support a progression from block coding toward real engineering. funding Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-nvidia-partnership/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/mississippi-nvidia-partnership/ On June 18, 2025, the State of Mississippi announced a memorandum of understanding with NVIDIA to expand AI education, research collaboration, and workforce development — bringing NVIDIA's Deep Learning Institute resources, teaching kits, and certification pathways to Mississippi's community colleges, universities, and technical institutions, with stated priority for underserved and rural communities. Delta read: An MOU is a handshake, not a contract — the page names no dollars, dates, or metrics. Watch what actually reaches community colleges. Certification pathways shape what high schools teach; hardware-adjacent curricula may follow. funding Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/chatgpt-for-teachers/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/chatgpt-for-teachers/ OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teachers (announced November 19, 2025) is a free version of ChatGPT for verified U.S. K–12 educators — free through June 2027 — offering a secure workspace for lesson prep, material adaptation, and collaboration, with district admin controls, SSO, and a default that teacher content is not used to train OpenAI's models. Verification runs through third-party SheerID. Delta read: These are the vendor's claims, not independent findings. The free period ends June 2027 — plan for what happens after. Verify eligibility, the “by default” in data-training terms, and where the boundary with student access actually sits. educator_ai Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/microsoft-365-copilot-in-education/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/microsoft-365-copilot-in-education/ Microsoft positions Copilot across the Microsoft 365 apps schools already use — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams — with Copilot Chat included at no extra cost for school accounts (ages 13+), a full Microsoft 365 Copilot academic tier at $18 per user per month, and a Study & Learn Agent that guides students through practice rather than giving answers. Microsoft states tenant data is never used to train foundation models. Delta read: Districts already on Microsoft tenants should not assume Copilot is “included” — the capable tier is $18/user/month and agent usage is metered. The 13+ age line excludes most elementary students by design. educator_ai Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/gemini-for-education/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/gemini-for-education/ Google's Gemini for Education comes at no cost with Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, with a paid Google AI Pro add-on at $15–24 per user per month. Students under 18 get a distinct guarded experience — extra guardrails, youth onboarding, and automatic double-checking of fact-based answers. Google states user data is not human-reviewed or used to train AI models, with admin on/off controls per user and Vault visibility. Delta read: Mississippi's own instruction pilot uses this product family, which makes its outcomes the closest thing to local evidence a district will get. The under-18 experience differing from the adult one is a feature — verify it's actually enabled that way. educator_ai Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/khanmigo-administrator-tools/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/khanmigo-administrator-tools/ Khan Academy's Khanmigo offers school and district administrators seven purpose-built tools — including Course Snapshot (course-level progress data), an IEP Assistant, a SMART Goal Writer, letter and newsletter generators, and open Chat with GPT — accessed through an administrator dashboard, alongside its student tutoring and teacher tools tied to the Khan Academy curriculum. Delta read: Curriculum grounding narrows a chatbot's failure modes, but grounding is not a guarantee. The IEP Assistant deserves the hardest look: documents about a child's disability services are among the most sensitive a school produces — human review isn't optional there. student_ai Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/sphero-bolt-plus/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/sphero-bolt-plus/ Sphero's BOLT+ is a programmable sphere robot for grades 3–10 ($199 single, $3,499+ for a 15-robot classroom Power Pack) with three programming levels — Draw, Blocks, and Text (JavaScript/Python) — a programmable LCD screen, sensors, inductive charging, and standards-aligned cross-curricular lessons through Sphero Central. One robot is designed to support two learners. Delta read: A credible progression from introductory block coding to real text programming on a single platform — that's the feature that matters. Per-student cost roughly halves via pair programming. We are evaluating classroom-pack economics, charging logistics, and repairability before any catalog decision. robotics Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/dash-and-make-wonder/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/dash-and-make-wonder/ Wonder Workshop's Dash ($189.99; classroom 12-pack $1,895) is a K–8 robot that ships assembled and charged, programmable from drag-and-drop through Blockly to JavaScript. The Make Wonder platform adds standards-aligned lessons, a teacher dashboard (35 student profiles), and a Virtual Dash option; the company claims use in 40,000+ schools. Delta read: Strong elementary fit where teacher onboarding and classroom management matter more than raw capability — and Virtual Dash softens the robots-per-student problem. Note the October 2025 tariff-driven price increase; quotes and timing matter. robotics Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/lego-education-spike-retirement/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/lego-education-spike-retirement/ LEGO Education's SPIKE Prime set (45678) retired from sale June 30, 2026. The SPIKE app keeps bug fixes and OS-compatibility updates through June 30, 2031 (no new features after retirement), teacher resources stay available through 2031, spare parts are stocked for two years after final sale, and FIRST LEGO League eligibility ends after the 2027–28 season. LEGO points buyers to its Science and Computer Science & AI lines. Delta read: A brand name is not a lifecycle guarantee. The dates that bite are competition eligibility (2027–28 season) and parts (mid-2028) — a class set bought used today has a real countdown. Check retirement dates, parts, and successors before any class-set investment, on any platform. lifecycle Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/ozobot-evo/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/ozobot-evo/ Ozobot's Evo App (iOS/Android) is the companion to the Evo robot, spanning PreK–2, 3–5, and 6–8: students start with screen-free color codes the robot reads off paper, progress to on-screen Blockly programming, and can use MetaBot — an augmented-reality robot — plus virtual Color Code Magnet Kits. The experience won an ISTE award. Delta read: Low infrastructure demands and visible, movement-based learning make this a practical station activity for early grades — a marker and paper start coding class. The page omits pricing and technical requirements rather than stating them; get the full quote picture before budgeting. robotics Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/new-york-humanoid-robot-pause/ https://deltateachingsupply.com/news/new-york-humanoid-robot-pause/ The Salamanca City Central School District in rural upstate New York paused its board-approved, nearly $60,000 purchase of “Sally,” a stationary humanoid robot from Realbotix, after objections from the state education commissioner, the teachers union, and residents — including over the vendor's corporate ties to a sex-doll maker. The district claimed extensive safeguards (local storage, no recording, restricted topics, no public web); the pilot is on hold pending enhanced student-data privacy agreements. Delta read: Technical safeguards could not substitute for social legitimacy — and the commissioner caught the district describing a “no instructional role” robot as a “tutoring platform” in its own board presentation. Consult teachers and community before procurement, not after, and treat anything that simulates a human presence as a different category of decision than a tool students program. human_role_risk Sun, 09 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT