Byram Hills outlines AI toolkit for classrooms, emphasizes departmental guidance and student instruction

Byram Hills Central School District administrators and teachers told the board on Oct. 14 that the district has studied generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools since late 2022 and is publishing an "AI toolkit" to guide classroom use, academic integrity and teaching of AI literacy.

The district identified four focal areas for guidance in the toolkit: academic integrity (how and when AI use is acceptable), critical evaluation of AI outputs, privacy/security of data provided to AI tools and accountability for appropriate use. "When we're talking AI now, what we're talking about are large language models—prediction engines that generate text—and smaller, curated models that teachers can build from approved source materials," Kevin Guidotti said.

Teachers and department chairs said early classroom experiments focused on instructional uses that resemble existing web‑based research (vocabulary help, study guides, audio/visual aids) while also exploring small language models that can be restricted to a curated set of texts for class use. Dwayne McDowell, English chairperson and teacher, described a classroom test that used a small model populated with Shakespeare plays; the model returned character lists, lines of text and evidence that could prompt student analysis.

Department chairs have begun drafting department‑level rules. Dwayne said his English department put guidance into three columns—green (allowed uses that mirror Google searches), yellow (uses requiring teacher permission), and red (academic integrity violations). Administrators and teachers said departments and individual teachers will set course‑level expectations and include AI use rules in syllabi so students know what is permitted in that class.

Students told district staff that they want clear guidance and teacher instruction on how to use AI appropriately. District focus groups, administrators said, showed students asking for explicit rules and instruction rather than leaving them uncertain about whether use is allowed.

Teachers and administrators emphasized that AI will not replace foundational classroom practices. Several participants said writing process skills, critical thinking, and teacher conferences remain central, and that some classroom tasks—pen‑and‑paper work, in‑class drafting, and activities that build ‘‘stamina’’ for longer reading and writing—are intentionally protected from AI.

The district plans continued professional learning for teachers, further pilot projects in departments, and to publish the AI toolkit on the district website as a living document that will be updated as tools and practices evolve.