APONTE STRATEGIC ADVISORY AI LEADERSHIP DIVISION--:--:--BOOK A CALL
▸ APPLIED AI LEADERSHIP / SCHOOLS AND SMALL ORGANIZATIONS

Your staff is already using AI.The question is who is leading it.

Employees, teachers, and staff are pasting sensitive information into free chatbots. Vendors are selling you AI powered everything. Your board is asking questions you cannot answer yet. You do not need a $350,000 Chief AI Officer. You need AI leadership that fits your budget and your reality.

Engagement tiers
04
Assessment to Fractional
Starting point
$997
Two weeks, fixed scope
Fractional slots
02
Partner organizations at a time
Confidentiality
NDA
Available on request
Threat Assessment

The cost of nobody in charge.

AI is already inside your organization. The only question is whether it is governed.

The data exposure you cannot see

Right now, someone on your staff is using a free AI tool with information that should never leave your building. Without a policy, you own that risk and do not know it exists.

The board question that is coming

What is our AI strategy? is being asked in boardrooms everywhere. Leaders who answer with a shrug lose credibility. Leaders who answer with a governance framework and a roadmap gain it.

The money about to be wasted

Every vendor now claims AI. Without an evaluation framework, you will buy tools your staff never uses, at prices built for organizations ten times your size.

The hours you are paying for twice

Your best people spend a shocking share of their week on repetitive work a well built AI workflow handles in seconds. You are paying salaries for tasks that no longer require a human, and losing the judgment those hours could have bought.

Operator on Record

Advice from someone who built it, not just read about it.

Most AI consultants have never run an organization. I led a public charter school through state corrective action while building and deploying the AI systems that automated our compliance tracking, board reporting, and daily operations, on a budget most consultants would call impossible. The outcome: full accreditation and full charter renewal. The systems I help you build are not theoretical. I run my organization on them.

This page, including the live AI guide below, was built on the same stack and process I will use for your build.

Executive Director, Public Charter SchoolBuilt and Deployed AI Operations SystemsFull Accreditation and Charter RenewalU.S. ArmyNYPDJPMorgan
Live Demonstration

Don't take my word for it. Ask the system.

This is Nicole, Mr. Aponte's AI assistant, built on the same stack and process he delivers to clients. Describe your organization and what you're facing, and she'll point you to the right starting point. She is an AI, not a person, and she'll tell you plainly if you don't need paid help.

NICOLE // MR. APONTE'S AI ASSISTANT/ NOT A PERSON
Hi, I'm Nicole, Mr. Aponte's AI assistant. Tell me a little about your organization and what brought you here, and I'll point you to the right starting point. Most organizations begin with the $997 Readiness Assessment, but that isn't right for everyone.

Nicole gives structured guidance, not legal or financial advice. Conversations may be reviewed to improve the advisory. When a client engagement includes an assistant like this one, it ships with the same disclosure standards you see here.

Operating Procedure

How it works.

STEP 01/03

Book a 20 minute conversation

No pitch. Just questions about where your organization stands and what is keeping you up at night.

STEP 02/03

Start with the Assessment

Two weeks, fixed price, clear deliverable. You will know exactly what you are working with.

STEP 03/03

Decide with a roadmap in hand

Most clients know what they need by the end of the readout. No pressure, no lock in.

Engagements

Four ways to take control.

One data exposure incident, one wasted vendor contract, one board meeting you can't answer: any single one of them costs more than everything on this page.

Each engagement stands alone. Each one builds the case for the next.

TIER 01 // START HERE

AI Readiness Assessment

$997
Two weeks, fixed scope

Know exactly where you stand.

A complete inventory of how AI is already being used in your organization, including the uses you do not know about. Risk snapshot, ranked opportunity map, and a one page 90 day roadmap you can hand your board. Written report plus a one hour readout.

TIER 02 // GOVERN

AI Governance Package

$2,997
Three weeks, board ready

Answer the board with confidence.

A board ready AI use policy, staff guidelines, student and client data guardrails, and a vendor evaluation rubric, customized to your organization and delivered with a presentation you can give yourself. The document set that turns AI from a liability into a governed asset.

TIER 03 // DISCOVER

Workflow Discovery Sprint

$3,997
Two days of observation, one week to report

Find the hours hiding in your operation.

Consent based workflow capture across your team: screen recording, structured shadowing, and time audits over two working days. You receive an Automation Map ranking every repetitive task by hours consumed, automation difficulty, and estimated ROI, plus a build plan for the AI assists that eliminate the worst offenders. Implementation available as a follow on engagement.

TIER 04 // LEAD

Fractional AI Leadership

$4,500/mo
Three month minimum

Executive AI leadership without the executive salary.

Monthly strategy sessions, oversight of one active implementation, staff training, and a board ready progress summary every month. The role of a Chief AI Officer at a fraction of the loaded cost of hiring one. Limited to two partner organizations at a time.

Most organizations start with the Readiness Assessment.

Confidential by design. NDA available.
Custom App Development

When the fix is software, we build it.

Operational platforms built and running today in a Florida charter school and multiple consumer products, including staff command centers, an AI-powered finance platform, and a gamified learning app.

BUILD 01

AI Workflow Audit

$497

Find the hours hiding in your operation.

A practical map of where AI and automation remove hours, with a build versus buy recommendation for each opportunity, prioritized by impact and cost. Written report you can act on immediately.

BUILD 02

Command Center Build

From $2,500

A custom internal app for your team, in weeks.

A custom dashboard or operations app for staff management, compliance, or client operations, with AI features built in where they earn their place. Delivered in weeks, not quarters. Training and handoff included.

BUILD 03

Full Product Build

Custom Scope

From spec to launch.

End to end design and development for client facing or school facing applications. Product spec, build, and launch support, with ongoing iteration available by retainer.

The organizations that get AI right will not be the ones with the biggest budgets.

They will be the ones with someone accountable for it.

Think clearly. Lead boldly. Stay logical.
© 2026 MICHAEL A. APONTE // APPLIED AI LEADERSHIP