Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K 12 Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lapeer schools outline virtual-learning gains, new AI guidelines and business internships
Summary
The Lapeer Community Schools’ Center for Innovation and Littler Virtual Partnership reported higher pass rates, explicit artificial-intelligence guidance for students and families, and business internships that led to a student hire during the March board meeting.
The Lapeer Community School Board heard a detailed report on virtual learning, artificial-intelligence (AI) guidance and business partnerships on March 25.
Center for Innovation Director Shad Stills told the board the district’s benchmark goal is to “provide every child access to an aligned high-quality curriculum from early childhood to postsecondary.” He reported improvements in one district metric: first-semester pass rates for students taking virtual courses reached 77 percent, the highest in nearly seven years of tracking the data.
The nut of the presentation was how the district supports different virtual students: full-time virtual students (three or more virtual courses), “onesie/twosie” students who take one or two online classes while attending in person, students enrolled through the Littler Virtual Partnership (LVP) and students at the alternative Community High/Center for Innovation (CFI). Stills said the district now serves roughly 370–390 full-time virtual students and about 550 total students across the district’s virtual programs, up about 100 full-time students from the prior year.
Stills and virtual teachers described supports that the district credits for better outcomes: expanded mentor/tutor blocks, certified-staff daily blocks where students can come for help, expanded family outreach and onsite two-day programs for students enrolled in partnership classes.
Katie Edwards, a certified virtual teacher, and other instructors described new professional development on AI and classroom practices. "One of the most important things about any tool is how you use it," Edwards said, explaining the district’s approach of teaching ethical, transparent and pedagogically appropriate uses of AI. She said staff developed a sliding-scale guidance document showing uses that range from inappropriate (having AI write a whole essay and submitting it as original work) to acceptable classroom supports (using AI to identify where a student made a specific error on a math problem). The guidance includes direction on citation and transparency when AI is used.
Edwards and Stills said the district provides training for staff before materials reach students and that teachers use detection tools where available but are shifting toward designing more “authentic assessments” that are harder to misrepresent. "Plagiarism is getting harder and harder to detect because it doesn't sound like a robot anymore," Edwards said, and added that the district is balancing detection with redesign of tasks.
Board members also heard examples of authentic learning and business partnerships led from the CFI. Sarah Taylor, learning coach, introduced a pair of students who created a video for the Michigan Alternative Education Association and then a business partnership that led to a paid internship. Brian Conley, owner of ETL Engineering in Dryden, described bringing students to his shop for hands-on experiences in welding, laser cutting and press brake operations; one intern, Autumn Kwasquia, completed a 90-day internship, learned AutoCAD and received a job offer. "She actually learned quicker and got certified than anybody I have working for," Conley said. Kwasquia told the board she plans to attend Mott Community College with the intent to transfer to Oakland University for an electrical engineering degree.
The presentation emphasized several district strategies: expanding on-site mentor time, continuing targeted outreach to students at risk of failing, widening virtual-course offerings and formalizing AI guidance for families and teachers. Stills said he expects continued refinement of detection tools and assessment design as generative AI evolves.
The district also described work to keep virtual students connected to the system and reduce attrition by offering a range of delivery options and in-person supports. Stills said the district’s long-term aim is to give students options that keep them enrolled and learning within Lapeer Community Schools.
Board members thanked students and business partners and discussed how to scale successful local partnerships to other employers.
Ending: The AI guidance and virtual-learning strategies will remain under development; staff said the materials have already been shared with virtual families and will be used to guide interventions and professional development going forward.
