[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6640038,"mediaKeyId","2556422-c0448a826cbeea2063404f2e9f0b8561","parentId",2556422,"title","Dover Area SD teachers demonstrate classroom uses of AI and urge human oversight","audioSeconds",1011,"startMs",225230,"endMs",1237195,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2556422-c0448a826cbeea2063404f2e9f0b8561&start=225&end=1237","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2556422-c0448a826cbeea2063404f2e9f0b8561/thumbnail_225230.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6640038/Pennsylvania/Dover-Area-SD-teachers-demonstrate-classroom-uses-of-AI-and-urge-human-oversight","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6640038-01b8ebbf47a8cb7093a63377ff7916a4/orig.mp4?Expires=1775138551&Signature=iksXRg-I2CbJsY0ujDQ9eYclO5EM8e6yJgUgNDwYjhvIbDwZirkoheqOsYtabNHDm0XyBuywy1DIeJihfxuREExQDePbHhKgdXvYCiIaQFqHNy3GeSSSszmLSr7WBKW62BOITYyMtH~dK~FdMIXy4HXTczgd9S3njTi7ntUX5Pj2LlxNjclsY54v3K8JBNL7VRENkKmUmKAabaXA4DDTlZ92Exkhti6mXsNsvhQkXFsmjhedDyW8OZFzhDSZNAvCzuFEq7A2tOjGIjjW7o9xzAxJxR39ndSZZ3yUKc0Xil-x6~-vvahqQxoxes3Y6hFv~ktxc90x72woC6x~~imtDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Dover Area School District","date","2025-03-12T02:17:06.613Z","article","District technology staff and teachers gave a demonstration to the board on artificial intelligence uses in K–12 classrooms, describing tools for differentiating text, generating practice items, providing formative feedback and producing student-facing reports — and emphasizing the need for human review and student privacy safeguards.

Samantha (Sam) Helwig opened the presentation by describing types of AI and the recent rise of generative models used to create text, images and video. She said generative AI can produce classroom materials quickly from prompts, but that it learns from large amounts of existing data and can raise copyright or accuracy issues.

Teachers showed examples
Heather Zimmerman, a fifth-grade teacher at Dover Elementary, described classroom uses she's trialed: adapting texts to multiple reading levels, creating targeted practice items, and using an AI-driven \"Topic Explorer\" that allows students to ask subject-specific questions and provides teachers with detailed reports of student interactions. Zimmerman said, \"every time we use it, it has to be checked. I can't just generate something and just push it out to kids. It definitely needs checked. It needs checked for grammar. It needs checked for accuracy.\" She also described using AI to create charts and data sets tied to existing curriculum materials that students then analyze.

A secondary teacher described similar uses for leveling texts, lesson planning and student writing. In particular, teachers commended AI's role as an editing partner that can provide immediate grammatical feedback and explain errors; one presenter said the tool can identify frequent problems across a class (for example, passive voice or parallelism) and help teachers target instruction.

Privacy and instruction
Helwig raised student-privacy concerns several times. \"One of the things that I need everybody to know is in the United States at this moment, there are no laws protecting your data. Anything you put into AI is fair game. It could be sold to anyone. Anything could happen to that data,\" she said, and urged staff and students to avoid entering personally identifying information into AI tools.

Board questions focused on curriculum and timing: board members asked whether the district should wait until a certain grade before allowing students to use AI directly. Presenters said they do not intend to replace fundamental instruction (spelling, grammar, drafting) and stressed scaffolding: elementary students would continue paper-based writing and explicit instruction in conventions, while older students could be taught AI-literacy to use tools for brainstorming, drafting and revision with human oversight.

What teachers said about classroom impact
- Leveling and differentiation: Teachers used AI to rewrite texts to match varied reading levels in the same class.
- Feedback at scale: AI provided class-level reports on writing mechanics that teachers can use to target lessons.
- Engagement: Students reportedly find AI-driven Topic Explorers engaging; teachers can see students' typed interactions and identify misconceptions flagged by the AI.

Policy and next steps
The board is reviewing a first-reading policy on generative AI in education. Dr. Hauck and Helwig reported they have edited recommended policy language based on classroom practice. Board members asked administrators to gather teacher feedback and clarify parameters, and administrators said they would solicit practitioner input as the policy proceeds through subsequent readings.

Ending: Board members thanked presenters and requested additional guidance and teacher input before bringing the AI policy back for later consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Dover Area School District Board of Directors Meeting 3/11/2025","oneSentenceSummary","District technology and classroom staff demonstrated generative AI tools for differentiated instruction and feedback, emphasized privacy cautions and recommended an AI-literate approach with teacher oversight; board members asked about age thresholds and how to preserve foundational skills.","taxTitle","Dover Area SD, School Districts, Pennsylvania","taxId",76670,"location","Pennsylvania","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6640043,"Dover Area SD board reviews $2.3–$2.7 million shortfall, considers $400,693 in cuts",907,1818320,2726145,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2556422-c0448a826cbeea2063404f2e9f0b8561&start=1818&end=2726","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2556422-c0448a826cbeea2063404f2e9f0b8561/thumbnail_1818320.jpg","/articles/6640043/Pennsylvania/Dover-Area-SD-board-reviews-2327-million-shortfall-considers-400693-in-cuts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6640043-4883e3a2e0689981c607266475afea44/orig.mp4?Expires=1775138551&Signature=SmScxYr2HknYd2H6kL2t~e-HDlT2rqqLGag8MB9aq3GbHI7JwmwSUwb~Fpctm09EVpc~buo4L9tzgjpOvamwDRP0d9f1Is~x7pdR0cAMzkwmUZkTfUpq562EfBmJUODu7R2ifeHoAMc~K121IaHpd~WZa8ZP9HK0gzadzp-amj531AnTG-eIDv8R76yuAfXspiM~SuTynW5Gu2xwAnA7ZjE~XcTU2yVq1d-ulpnANvh~NVb~epks0was2jK3Wd78JOFV-jfycg1taUBwpa0o1kjasCusRp75F3BNgrE87VENYRDfFJB5ibz5TLqWV6QFg8nfXLboEckFvclSdYk66w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Dover Area SD financial staff on March 18 presented an updated budget shortfall and a package of proposed expenditure cuts and savings that would reduce, but not eliminate, the district's projected deficit.

Chief Financial and Operations Officer Mrs. Weaver told the board the district's February deficit estimate of about $2,400,000 had grown to roughly $2,700,000 after the system added an additional autistic support classroom. She said proposed cuts and projected savings would reduce the updated deficit to about $2,300,000, pending any additional state funding.

The presentation listed nearly $1.38 million in eliminated positions and other savings already realized since the loss of Washington Township enrollment, including seven fewer elementary teachers, cuts to coaching and teacher-leader stipends, reductions in high-school staff, elimination of an assistant director of Exceptional Children, reductions in building budgets and other administrative and support positions. Weaver and administrators described additional proposed reductions totaling $400,693 that would be applied to the preliminary expenditures.

Why it matters: Board members stressed the shortfall affects staffing, student services and extracurriculars. The district's biggest recurring costs are personnel and benefits; administrators said roughly 60–70% of the budget is tied to labor contracts and benefits, which limits the scope of one-off savings.

Most important details
- New autistic support classroom: Administrators said state or PDE guidance limits autistic support classrooms to a maximum of eight students; incoming enrollments would have pushed existing classrooms beyond that cap, leaving the district no option but to open another classroom. Dr. Hauck, who assisted Weaver in the presentation, said, “we are not allowed to have more than 8 students in an autistic support classroom.”
- Updated deficit math: Weaver told the board the February deficit (~$2.4M) increased to about $2.7M after adding the classroom; applying the staff-proposed cuts would reduce the shortfall to approximately $2.3M, though staff repeatedly cautioned the governor's final budget could change that number.
- Positions and past cuts: Since the Washington Township loss, the district eliminated dozens of positions largely via attrition, including elementary teachers, special-area teachers, math coaches and several high-school positions; support-staff roles and building budgets were also reduced.
- Proposed cuts and impacts: The list of specific reductions discussed included elimination or reduction of building budgets (affecting digital announcements, graduation sound-equipment rental, and some field trips), elimination of a pool robotic cleaner replacement purchase, reductions to athletic uniform replacement and live-streaming for athletics, reduced staff-development funding, and a proposal to reduce some facility maintenance items such as field treatments. Administrators warned some reductions could degrade maintenance and convenience (for example, potential deterioration of practice fields and diminished quality for announcements).
- Savings and offsets: Planned savings included roughly $125,000 from retirements/attrition, and about $100,000 estimated in reduced medical insurance premiums tied to a lower number of high-claimants, based on actuarial input from Conrad Siegel.
- Cyber charter tuition: Administrators and directors flagged cyber charter tuition as a major ongoing expense. Weaver said the district would spend more than $3 million on cyber-charter tuition in 2024–25, noting cyber tuition rates cited in the presentation of $13,173 per regular-education student and $31,530 per special-education student. Board members and several speakers raised concerns about Commonwealth Charter Academy and the statewide treatment of cyber-charter funding; a board member referenced a Pennsylvania Auditor General report showing large fund balances at some cyber charters.

Board discussion and next steps
Board members queried specifics, requested additional data (for example, usage statistics for live-streaming), and discussed what items they considered nonstarters to cut—several trustees said they would not support reductions that they believe would harm classroom instruction, student safety or essential services (for example, key maintenance that could create safety issues). President Conley and multiple directors said the board needs a five-year rolling projection, and Weaver said she will present five-year rolling averages in April.

No formal vote was recorded on the cuts at the meeting. Weaver said the board previously directed administration to produce approximately $400,000 in expenditure reductions and that staff would return with more detailed rolling projections; directors agreed to review the proposals and provide feedback ahead of the board's next meeting.

Public comment and context
Several public commenters and board members drew attention to cyber-charter costs and to trade-offs between cutting extracurriculars and preserving classroom instruction. Speakers also urged the board not to adopt policies or cuts that would be divisive or that could harm staff retention.

What remains unresolved
The board and administration agreed the preliminary cuts would be refined. The district's final deficit exposure depends on upcoming state budget actions and on final enrollment counts; Weaver said the final state allocations can change after the board adopts preliminary numbers.

Ending note: Administration will return with five-year rolling projections and requested follow-up data (live-streaming usage; clearer breakdowns of potential cost impacts) before the board adopts a final budget in June.","At a school board meeting, district financial staff presented an updated deficit after enrollment and special-education changes, and outlined proposed expenditure cuts and savings that would reduce but not eliminate a multi-million dollar shortfall; board members discussed priorities, cyber-charter costs and next steps but took no formal votes.","actionData","errors"]

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Dover Area SD teachers demonstrate classroom uses of AI and urge human oversight

Dover Area SD board reviews $2.3–$2.7 million shortfall, considers $400,693 in cuts