Chad Laines

Chad Laines serves as ABC Unified's Instructional Technology Specialist, where he leads the district's technology integration program and provides teachers with AI integration strategies to make instruction more accessible, engaging, and personalized. A two-time Educator of the Year nominee with over three decades as a middle school history teacher, he led students to 13 LA County championships and two state championships through the National History Day program. He now brings that classroom experience to provide guidance for the ethical and responsible use of AI in the classroom and beyond. His work is grounded in his HI+AI philosophy: the belief that the most powerful learning experiences emerge when Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence work in harmony, with technology serving to amplify rather than replace the irreplaceable human elements of teaching and learning. He hosts The ABCs of AI, a monthly podcast exploring how to thoughtfully blend HI and AI to enhance teaching while honoring the human spirit of learning. Beyond his professional work, Chad takes great pride as the patriarch of the "family business," where two of his three children followed him into education as dedicated and passionate teachers of students with special needs. He jokes that his oldest son went into business to manage all the disposable income. Chad likes to tell future teachers that there is no "secret sauce" to success in the classroom, but the ingredients to start a batch of it begin with building relationships, a principle he believes AI, when used purposefully, has the potential to support and strengthen.