Career and technical education · Maywood, IL
AI Course for CTE Programs
Digital Alchemy offers a 9-week AI course pilot built to plug into an existing CTE program of study, not replace one. Students learn AI literacy and then apply it to a career-connected build: a real digital product for a real audience, presented at the end. No new department, no year-long commitment before you have seen it work.
Taught by Desi Baker (Desmond Baker Jr), a Google Gemini Certified Educator who has taught AI through the Chicago Housing Authority and spoken at AI Tinkerers.
Book a free planning callWho this is for
- CTE directors adding AI to an existing pathway
- CTE teachers in information technology, business, media, and entrepreneurship programs
- Work-based learning coordinators who need student proof of skills
What students walk away with
- Career-connected AI skills: research, production, testing, and presentation
- A portfolio product students can show employers and colleges
- Workplace habits graded on a shared rubric: deadlines, feedback, revision
- An evaluation summary mapped to your pathway goals
Built for how CTE actually runs
- Fits a quarter or a grading period: 9 weeks, scheduled in your existing blocks
- Sits inside IT, business, media, or entrepreneurship pathways
- Project briefs can be shaped with a local employer or community partner
- Funding conversations: pilots like this are commonly scoped for career-connected and innovation budgets, including Perkins V planning. We help you frame the scope, your district makes the funding call
How it compares
Large pathway providers sell full semester or year courses with annual program fees. That is the right buy for a district standardizing across schools. A pilot is the right buy for one program proving demand first: one cohort, one quarter, evidence for the bigger decision.
Standards alignment
The pilot supports alignment with ISTE standards and can be mapped to CSTA concepts and to the AI4K12 big ideas. Career readiness practices, communication, problem solving, and digital product skills, run through every project. A crosswalk for your specific pathway is available on request.
Price
Prices as of November 2026.
From $7,500
CTE pilots start at $7,500 for one cohort of up to 30 students, teacher training included.
Founding pricing: the first 3 pilots booked for the 2026-27 school year are $5,000 flat. When those three are booked, founding pricing closes.
Every quote is given in writing after a free planning call. No quote is final until scope is final.
Book a free planning callQuestions schools ask
Does this replace our current CTE course?
No. It runs inside or alongside an existing course as a 9-week unit. Many schools use the pilot to decide what a full course should look like.
Can students earn a credential?
Students finish with a portfolio product, a presentation, and a completion record from the pilot. We do not claim industry certification. If your pathway requires a specific credential exam, ask us how the pilot can support it.
What equipment do we need?
Student Chromebooks or laptops and internet access. All tools are browser-based and approved with your IT team before week one.
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