Every week I use AI tools to get actual work done: writing, data analysis, communications, curriculum support, and a few personal projects on the side. This page is a running log of how I’m using Claude Code, ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM in my role as Assistant Director of Schools in Tennessee. No curated highlight reels. Just what I actually tried, what worked, and what didn’t. If you’re an educator or school leader trying to figure out how AI fits into real K-12 work, this is for you.

 

Week of April 13 - April 19, 2026

District Operations

  • Claude Code
    Built TISA Dashboard with Plotly across FY24-FY27 Finals, plus weekly RP7/RP8 projection updates and switch to date-stamped filenames
    tisa_snapshot_extractor.py, tisa_dashboard_builder.py, dated projection files
  • Claude Code
    Reconciled February, March, and April TISA projections; traced $939K N28 swing to LEA share of county-generated funds and rebuilt LC tab
    Updated April Projection workbook, reconciliation memo
  • Claude Code
    Compared SWORD snapshots against February Preliminary ahead of state's monthly pull; flagged TOPS as the only meaningful school mover
    TISA_SWORD_vs_FebPrelim_Comparison_2026-04-15.docx
  • Claude Code
    Full Copier RFP analysis across 5 vendors (Sharp, Ricoh, Canon, Centriworks, RJ Young) using 5 parallel agents; built scorecard, TCO model, FY-by-FY breakdown, PaperCut verification
    GCS_Copier_RFP_Analysis.xlsx (9 sheets)
  • Claude Code
    Launched School Nutrition Supervisor search after Karen Wilhoit's retirement: job posting, three stakeholder surveys, applicant tracker, timeline
    Search 2026/ folder, Job Posting, Surveys, SN Supervisor Applicant Tracker.xlsx
  • Claude Code
    Filed five SN Supervisor applicants (Willett, Hensley, Barbour, Crocker, Holt) via the applicant-intake skill; verified legal names against forms, flagged disclosures and salary asks
    5 renamed PDFs filed, tracker updated 5x
  • Claude Code
    Analyzed SN Director stakeholder survey (14 responses), ranked seven leadership qualities, summarized themes, identified 7 willing committee members
    SN Director Survey Findings 2026-04-14.docx
  • Claude Code
    Rebuilt Digital Accident Report workflow with standard M365 connectors only (Form + Power Automate + HTML to PDF), then added Student Address field and per-school nurse routing
    accident_report_template.html, BUILD-GUIDE.md, principal-routing.xlsx
  • Claude Code
    Researched WFTEADA mechanics including City of Athens v. McMinn County (2014); confirmed Greene County rural school bond debt structure and inside-levy implications
    WFTEADA tracker scaffold, Morrison follow-up email
  • Claude Code
    Stood up daily Sword error tracking pipeline with multi-sheet XLSX dashboard; identified GHS 3500 cleanup noise and TOPS overlapping enrollments
    sword_errors_summary.py, sword-errors-dashboard.xlsx
  • Claude Code
    Built Power Automate flow for Hal Henard B&GC attendance: sorted student list, HTML email with count and date
    B&GC Attendance flow with sort/select/compose pattern
  • Claude Code
    Two Bill Tracker updates after EFA expansion (HB 2532/SB 2247) cleared both chambers; logged TISA hold-harmless provisions and 14 other bill changes
    Bill Tracker AM and PM updates
  • Claude Code
    Cleaned PowerSchool Predictive Enrollment kickoff transcript, organized 8 PEA attachments, drafted heads-up email to Town of Greeneville
    Meeting summary docx, Predictive Enrollment/ folder
  • Claude Code
    Cleaned C-Team meeting notes and updated tracker with new action items (Karen retirement, HHE search, MasteryConnect, PEA, Mental Health Grant)
    Apr 14 2026-clean.docx, C-Team Tracker updated
  • Claude Code
    Cleaned LEPC Emergency Management meeting notes covering hazardous waste program, lithium battery safety, and county hazard mitigation plan
    LEPC meeting notes docx
  • Claude Code
    ASBO International webinar planning: pulled Deron's email and attachments, recovered topic and learning objectives from ACE 2026 proposal
    ASBO Webinar 2026/ folder organized
  • Claude Code
    Updated resume and organized ASBO Education Advisory Committee files (Future Trends and Strategic Foresight Track, 2026-2028)
    ASBO Committee/ folder, updated resume
  • Claude Code
    Filed March 2026 finance reports via Finance Filing skill; converted XLS and XLSX to PDF, updated tracker
  • Claude Code
    Identified misrouted CMS-1500 health insurance claim form delivered to GHS; researched NUCC, Oaks PA back-office routing, recommended PHI handling
  • Claude Code
    Filed Highland audio enhancement quote ($49K from Central Technologies via Sevier County contract piggyback)
  • Claude Code
    Rewrote softball coach email more tactfully via internal-comms skill (head coach as point of contact, Parks and Rec turf scheduling)
  • NotebookLM
    Created Friday Check-Ins notebook to centralize leadership check-in content for Q&A and synthesis
  • NotebookLM
    Created Ricoh Business Solutions Proposal notebook for interactive Q&A on the copier RFP submission

Teaching & Academic

  • Claude Code
    Reviewed an ELPA 6400 AI paper with full XML formatting audit; corrected first-pass errors and improved the ai-paper-review skill (267 to 441 lines)
    REVIEWED .docx
  • Claude Code
    Reviewed a second ELPA 6400 paper with verify-first formatting audit before writing comments; 18 rubric-tagged comments inserted
    REVIEWED .docx

Research & Writing

  • Claude Code
    Horne paternal genealogy deep research: GEDCOM cleanup pipeline, 184 direct ancestors over 14 generations across Horne, Bruce, Rose, Osborne, Kilgore lines
    Horne Family Tree.FINAL.ged, Horne paternal report .docx
  • Claude Code
    Quillen-Casteel maternal research with 7-agent parallel pipeline; 170 direct ancestors, corrected Casteel origin to Flemish, added Augustine Berry as 9th DAR patriot
    Quillen-Casteel maternal report .docx
  • Claude Code
    AncestryDNA raw data deep dive (677,436 SNPs, V2.0 array): ancestry composition, autosomal heterozygosity, Eastern KY/VA settler ancestral journeys
  • Claude Code
    Combined Horne paternal and Quillen-Casteel maternal report with father-son DNA analysis (99.99% Mendelian concordance); published to GitHub for family sharing
    Combined report .docx, GitHub publish
  • Claude Code
    Real Leadership book positioning research: 6-agent pipeline mapping ed leadership canon, compliance critique tradition, publisher landscape, TN compliance stack
    Real Leadership Book Positioning Research Report .docx
  • Claude Code
    Background research and v1 dialogue draft for Woodcock-Johnson McSweeney's piece; verified prior-art lane is open
    Comedy Research Brief.docx, Woodcock Dialogue.docx

Code & Automation

  • Claude Code
    Built /gcs-surveys skill: reproducible spring survey analysis pipeline (longitudinal report, internal C-Team report, level reports, per-administrator feedback)
    ~/.claude/skills/gcs-surveys/
  • Claude Code
    Built /tldr-roundup skill with weekly Monday launchd job, Obsidian tracker, and backfilled first digest (23 items flagged across 6 issues)
    tldr-roundup skill, com.hornej.tldr-roundup.plist
  • Claude Code
    Generated TLDR AI weekly roundup covering Claude 4.7 release, Claude Code Routines, Cowork GA, Perplexity Personal Computer, NotebookLM Canvas
    2026-04-17 - TLDR Weekly Roundup vault note

Personal

  • Claude Code
    Installed travel-planner skill from GitHub and ran 5 sub-agents to plan a Vegas trip (TYS nonstop, Horseshoe, Mystère, 4-dinner lineup, $4,500 budget)
  • Claude Code
    Flight search for Pittsburgh Oct 13-16 (AC&E conference); recommended TYS via DCA at ~$218 round trip over TRI options
43 tasks across 2 AI tools
Approx. 110 hours saved this week