AI didn’t ask permission to enter education. It didn’t roll out with professional development days or clear instructions. But it’s here. It arrived quickly, unevenly, and with a lot of opinions attached. Now, it’s part of the conversation in afterschool too, and it’s affecting afterschool educators.

Even before AI, afterschool educators already carried a lot. They step in after a full school day to design enrichment experiences that are engaging, meaningful, and human, often with mixed ages, limited prep time, and rising expectations.

When AI first entered the picture, many educators focused on protecting students’ experiences from it. That instinct made sense. Afterschool has always been rooted in connection, creativity, and care. 

But as AI becomes part of students’ everyday lives, keeping it out is no longer realistic. What matters now is using it intentionally, in ways that support educators and preserve meaningful learning.

Here’s how afterschool can use AI to prepare students for what’s ahead while ensuring enrichment’s humanity isn’t lost in the process.

A Real Afterschool Moment at 3:42 p.m.

It’s 3:42 p.m.

Students are filtering in. A few are buzzing with energy. A few are wiped. A few are already asking, “What are we doing today?”

The staff member leading the room just finished a full day elsewhere, and prep time didn’t happen. The group is mixed-age, the energy is uneven, and the expectation to make it engaging is still there. 

This is the moment where AI either supports the room or gets in the way.

Bad AI shows up with a rigid, one-size-fits-all plan that ignores who’s actually in front of you.

Smart AI works more quietly. It helps the educator get started, offers flexible ideas they can adapt on the fly, and removes the blank-page pressure without taking control of the experience.

The educator stays in charge. The room stays human.

Why Afterschool Can Lead the AI Conversation

Afterschool should never use AI to replace learning. But it can use AI to support the people who make learning possible.

Much of the AI conversation has focused on K–12 classrooms. Afterschool, meanwhile, has been left on the sidelines, even though this educational space is where flexibility, creativity, and relationships drive learning every day.

AI is already part of daily life for students and educators alike. During the 2024–2025 school year, 85% of teachers and 86% of students reported using AI. At the same time, afterschool programs are being asked to deliver more than ever, often with limited staffing and little time to prepare.

That’s why this conversation matters so much.

Afterschool has never been built on efficiency alone. It is built on moments.

Moments when a student feels seen. Moments when curiosity sparks. Moments when an educator shifts the plan because the room needs something different that day.

When AI is used poorly, it adds complexity, replaces educator judgment, or pulls adults away from students. In those cases, it fails afterschool.

But when AI is designed intentionally, it can offer something educators rarely have enough of: capacity.

• Capacity to be fully present with students
• Capacity to plan thoughtfully
• Capacity to adapt creatively

As Brian Heaton, President of AB Studios, puts it:

“AI is here, and there’s no backspace, no delete button, no undo. The best way to leverage it is to understand it, including the downsides, because the speed of change is exponential.”

AI is still taking shape, and the choices we make now will define how it supports learning and how it shows up for students after 3 p.m.

Human-Led Learning: The Right Role for AI in Afterschool

The future of AI in afterschool isn’t automation. It’s human-led support.

AI doesn’t need to take the lead. It can act as a creative copilot, working quietly in the background to support educators with the parts of the job that pull time and energy away from what matters most: students.

That support might look like:

• Facing a blank page with no time to prep
• Adapting activities for mixed ages and abilities
• Planning something engaging at 3:30 p.m. after a full day of work
• Second-guessing whether a plan is “good enough”

This is where the role of AI shifts. Not as the driver, but as support.

Educators remain the decision-makers. They set the tone. They read the room. They know when to follow a plan, and when to toss it out entirely because the moment calls for something else.

Scott Wayman, Chief Innovative Officer at AB Studios, captures this shift:

“We’re not trying to replace educators. We’re building tools that enhance the workforce, giving them support behind the scenes so they can deliver high-quality experiences without losing their voice or creativity.”

When AI is designed this way, it does not flatten learning. It gives afterschool educators more confidence to do what they already do best: connect with students, spark curiosity, and create meaningful experiences.

Flexibility Is Afterschool’s Superpower

Afterschool has always been flexible by nature.

Plans change mid-afternoon. Groups shift. Energy rises and falls. Educators adapt in real time, often without a script and with very little margin for error.

That flexibility is one of afterschool’s greatest strengths.

As Heaton explains:

“If I had to boil it down to one word, it would be flexibility. Change is inevitable. The key is building scaffolding that doesn’t lock us into one way of working.”

Of course, flexibility takes effort. Adapting on the fly is hard when time is tight and expectations are high.

This is where AI can actually help, if it’s designed the right way.

When AI feels like a quiet teammate instead of another system to manage, flexibility becomes more sustainable. Educators show up with options, less pressure, and more confidence.

AI is the Reset Afterschool Needs Right Now

Afterschool doesn’t need to fear AI. Nor should educators adopt it blindly.

What afterschool programs need is a reset when it comes to AI.

A shift away from the idea that AI replaces learning and toward a vision where AI supports the people who make learning possible.

That belief is what guides how we build AI at AB Studios.

Our AI tools are designed specifically for afterschool, empowering educators to plan faster, adapt activities for mixed groups, and walk into each afternoon with ideas they can make their own.

Because in afterschool, the goal has never been to automate the human element.
It has always been to protect it and help it thrive.

If you’re curious what human-centered AI can look like in practice, we’d love to show you. Request a demo to explore how AB Studios’ AI tools are designed to support educators, not replace them.