Visiting educator urges Alexander County Schools to focus on applied skills, AI literacy and teamwork

Dr. Bill Daggett, founder of the Successful Practices Network and the International Center for Leadership and Education, told an audience at Alexander County Schools that classroom instruction should emphasize applying knowledge, teamwork and AI literacy so graduates can succeed in today’s labor market.

Daggett told the auditorium that while schools traditionally focus on content that is “testable,” employers want graduates who can use knowledge in unpredictable situations. “If you don't use it, you lose it,” Daggett said about memory and applied learning, and he warned that “AI is coming over us like a tidal wave.”

Why it matters: Daggett argued that rapid changes in technology, shifting employer expectations and measurable drops in longer-term college completion make it urgent for districts to consider instructional changes. He cited multiple national studies and workforce surveys—naming the National Dropout Prevention Center, AASA (the school superintendents’ association), My Future North Carolina, McKinsey, Deloitte and the World Economic Forum—to support the claim that employers increasingly value applied cognitive skills, interpersonal skills and short-term credentials over traditional credentials alone.

Daggett said several concrete trends are reshaping employer demand and student preparation. He cited a My Future North Carolina finding and his national commission work showing that only about 43 percent of students who started a four-year college program completed a bachelor’s degree within six years, and that the rate is substantially lower for students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch (he cited 13 percent). He also said a study he referenced showed that 41 percent of graduates who did complete college were working in jobs that did not require higher education. Daggett attributed those gaps in part to instructional design that prioritizes memorization and individually tested content over teamwork, interdisciplinary problem solving and application.

On brain development and technology, Daggett described research he said links heavy screen use to smaller hippocampal development in children compared with earlier cohorts; he argued smaller hippocampi can undermine the prefrontal-cortex functions needed for problem solving and self-regulation. He recommended instructional approaches that have students apply reading, writing and math in interdisciplinary, real-world projects so knowledge is retained and transferable.

Daggett also addressed artificial intelligence tools directly. He said AI will automate predictable tasks and that schools should teach students how to “be sophisticated AI editors,” including prompt writing and critical evaluation of AI outputs. He pointed to a cited example in which a short industry program for “prompt engineers” attracted tens of thousands of enrollees and advertised a high starting salary, using that to illustrate rapid labor-market shifts.

Local context and next steps: Bill Griffin, Alexander County Schools superintendent, introduced Daggett and said the school district obtained funding to host the presentation through a grant (grant source named in the transcript is not specified/verified). Griffin said the session is intended to start conversations, not to implement immediate classroom changes. Daggett said he would present further material to district staff the following day; the presentation closed with Griffin urging patience and long-term planning, calling curriculum change “kind of like turning the course of an aircraft carrier.”

What was not decided: The district did not vote, adopt new standards or announce specific policy changes during the presentation. Daggett and Griffin described tomorrow’s staff session as a planning and discussion opportunity; no formal direction, motion or adoption was recorded.

Quotes used in this article are taken from the public presentation and attributed to the speakers who made them in the transcript.