A student-led nonprofit that teaches young people how AI works, when it is wrong, and how to use it responsibly — through free workshops in schools, libraries, and youth programs.
Our Mission
Students For AI Literacy (SAIL) is a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to make artificial intelligence understandable, accessible, and responsible for every young person — through a near-peer model where high school students teach the students right behind them.
We train high school students to run free, hands-on AI literacy workshops in classrooms, libraries, and youth programs, starting in Cincinnati and now through student chapters in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Texas. Sessions cover how AI systems actually work, where they fail, how bias enters them, and how to use them honestly in schoolwork — taught through activities rather than lectures.
Every workshop is free to the school or organization hosting it. We have no paid staff and no office, so a contribution goes into the supplies students take home and the cost of opening the next chapter.
What we do
SAIL is an educational charity. We run three programs, all free to every student, school, and organization that takes part.
Middle and high school students
Trained high school instructors teach 45-to-90-minute, hands-on sessions in classrooms and after-school programs: how AI tools produce answers, why they are sometimes confidently wrong, how bias gets in, and how to use them honestly for schoolwork.
High school students who want to teach
We give students everything they need to start a SAIL chapter at their own school — curriculum, slide decks, facilitator notes, activity supplies, and coaching — so they can run free workshops for the younger students in their community.
Young people outside the classroom
We bring the same workshops to libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, summer camps, and youth programs, reaching students who would not otherwise get any structured AI education.
Donations pay for workshop supplies and for opening new chapters. We have no paid staff. What happens in a workshop · Recent sessions
Our impact so far
Through a free SAIL workshop since 2024.
Schools running their own student-led programming.
In classroom and community sessions, all free to host.
The challenge
A ban teaches nothing about using these tools ethically or safely, and students use AI anyway — just without any guidance on verifying what it tells them.
72%
of students say guidance on how to use generative AI responsibly would be helpful.
Center for Democracy & Technology, September 2023
79%
of teachers say their district does not have clear policies on AI in education.
EdWeek, February 2024
What we teach
AI explained in plain language, with hands-on activities instead of lectures. No prior technical experience needed.
Misinformation, bias, hallucinations, privacy, academic integrity — and how to verify what a model tells you. A system that is confident and wrong is more dangerous than one that is obviously broken.
High school leaders teach the students right behind them, building their own leadership skills while making the technology feel approachable.
Walnut Hills High School
Cincinnati, Ohio
SAIL started with a $400 seed contribution and a single classroom session. We incorporated as an Ohio nonprofit in June 2026 and are a federally recognized 501(c)(3).
What began as one chapter is now a network of student leaders across eight high schools, running free workshops for the students in their own communities.
Get involved
Host a free session, run by trained student leaders. You provide the room; we bring everything else.
Request a workshop→Launch a chapter, or join our marketing or finance team. No prior experience required — just follow-through.
See open roles→
