White Plains Public Schools / AI Guidance

Prompting Effectively With AI

Better prompts usually come down to one thing. Clarity. Name the role. Name the audience. Name the outcome. Then revise the draft like a professional, not like a copy and paste machine.

Teachers Administrators Support Staff Public Facing Guidance
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1 Start here. These habits improve almost every prompt.
T Teacher examples for planning, differentiation, assessment, and family communication.
A Administrator examples for staff communication, meetings, walkthroughs, and decision support.
S Support staff examples for aides, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and office teams.
! Use with care. Protect privacy. Check accuracy. Keep human judgment in the loop.
1
Start Here
This is the part that matters most. Strong prompts are clear about role, audience, task, and format.
01 Name the role and the job. ▼

Do not start with “write this better.” Start with who you are and what you need done.

Weak
Write an email about tomorrow.
Better
I am a middle school principal. Draft a family email about tomorrow's early dismissal. Keep it calm, clear, and under 150 words.
02 Name the audience and what they need to understand. ▼

The same message should sound different for students, staff, families, or district leaders.

Example
Rewrite this for families of elementary students. Assume they are reading quickly on a phone. Keep only the details they need to act on.
03 Give the tool the material it should use. ▼

AI writes better when it works from your notes, your directions, your schedule, or your draft instead of making things up.

Example
Use the notes below to draft a one page staff meeting agenda. Do not add new policies or procedures that are not in my notes.
04 Ask for a format. ▼

If you want a checklist, agenda, parent email, script, table, or talking points, say so.

Example
Turn this into a checklist for staff. Use short bullets. Bold the two steps that cannot be missed.
05 Set limits, then revise. ▼

Good prompts often include length, tone, and reading level. Then the second prompt sharpens the first draft.

Useful follow up
Cut this to 100 words. Make it sound more human. Remove any line that feels too formal or repetitive.
T
For Teachers
Best for first drafts you will still shape yourself: lessons, scaffolds, assessments, feedback, and family communication.
06 Build one solid lesson instead of a generic unit. ▼

Ask for one lesson, one standard, one objective, and one class period. That usually gives you something usable.

Teacher prompt
Create a 40 minute grade 7 lesson on proportional relationships. Include a do now, direct instruction, one turn and talk, guided practice, independent practice, and a two question exit ticket. Keep it realistic for mixed readiness levels.
07 Differentiate one task three ways. ▼

Keep the core thinking the same. Change the support, not the standard.

Teacher prompt
Take this assignment and create three versions: one with sentence starters and worked examples, one at grade level, and one extension version. Keep the same learning target across all three.
08 Create quick checks for understanding. ▼

AI is useful for exit tickets, hinge questions, and common mistake analysis when you tell it exactly what students learned.

Teacher prompt
Write 4 exit ticket questions for today's lesson on text evidence. Include 2 basic checks, 1 question that exposes a common misunderstanding, and 1 stretch question.
09 Turn notes into clearer feedback for students and families. ▼

Give it your actual notes first. Then edit the result so it still sounds like you.

Teacher prompt
Turn these notes into conference feedback for a family. Organize it into strengths, current concern, and next step. Keep the tone warm, direct, and free of school jargon.
A
For Administrators
Useful for principals, assistant principals, and district leaders who need clear communication, sharper agendas, and cleaner summaries.
10 Draft staff or family messages that are clear the first time. ▼

Say what is changing, why it matters, and what action people should take.

Administrator prompt
Draft a staff memo from an assistant principal about updated hallway supervision expectations. Keep it respectful, direct, and easy to scan. Include what is changing, why it matters, and what staff should do starting Monday.
11 Turn scattered notes into a meeting plan. ▼

AI is strong at organizing. It is weaker at deciding what matters. Give it the notes. You make the call.

Administrator prompt
Use these notes to create a 30 minute leadership team agenda with timing, decision points, and next steps for each topic. Keep the agenda realistic for one meeting.
12 Summarize walkthroughs, surveys, or meeting notes by trend. ▼

Ask for patterns, concerns, and possible next moves instead of a long recap.

Administrator prompt
Summarize these walkthrough notes in three sections: strengths we are seeing, patterns that need support, and two practical next steps for building leaders.
13 Prepare talking points for difficult conversations. ▼

This works well for principal meetings, team conversations, and presentations where tone matters.

Administrator prompt
Draft talking points for a principal meeting with staff about attendance concerns. Keep the tone steady and professional. Include the main message, likely questions, and calm responses.
S
For Support Staff
Useful for teacher aides, counselors, psychologists, social workers, intervention staff, and office teams who need clear, practical language.
14 Turn routines and responsibilities into checklists for aides and support staff. ▼

When work happens in steps, a checklist is usually better than a paragraph.

Support staff prompt
Turn these classroom support responsibilities into a daily checklist for a teacher aide. Use short action steps and group them into arrival, class time, transitions, and dismissal.
15 Draft clear family communication for counseling, attendance, or student support. ▼

Plain language matters most when families are already juggling a lot.

Support staff prompt
Rewrite this attendance outreach message for families in plain language. Keep it brief, respectful, and easy to understand on a phone screen.
16 Organize de identified notes into a neutral summary. ▼

This can help counselors, psychologists, and social workers clean up rough notes before they revise them professionally.

Support staff prompt
Using de identified notes only, organize this into a neutral summary with: presenting concern, supports discussed, action steps, and follow up needed. Keep the tone factual and professional.
17 Create scripts and question sets for meetings. ▼

Helpful for counselor check ins, reentry meetings, and family conversations where wording matters.

Support staff prompt
Draft 6 calm, open ended questions for a school counselor meeting with a student returning after an extended absence. Keep the language age appropriate and supportive.
!
Use With Care
AI can help with drafting and organizing. It should not replace professional judgment, district policy, or privacy standards.
18 Do not paste sensitive student, staff, or family information into public tools. ▼

Remove names and identifying details unless a district approved tool and process clearly allow their use.

Good habit: De identify first. Draft second.
19 Use AI to draft language, not to make decisions about people. ▼

Do not let AI determine discipline, mental health conclusions, eligibility, or other professional decisions that require trained human judgment.

Simple rule: AI can help organize your thinking. It should not replace your expertise.
20 Always review for accuracy, tone, and policy alignment before anything is shared. ▼

AI can sound polished and still be wrong. Read every draft before you send, post, or present it.

Check for: dates, names, procedures, compliance language, audience fit, and whether the message actually sounds like your school or office.