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San Rafael task force pilots Khanmigo/Conmigo tools and students urge AI teaching in high school
Summary
San Rafael City Schools presented progress April 21 on an AI task force that has piloted classroom tools such as Khan Academy’s Khanmigo/Conmigo and other AI platforms, and students and teachers described practical uses and oversight concerns.
The San Rafael City Schools AI task force presented an update April 21 on district pilots of classroom-facing AI tools, and students and teachers shared examples of classroom use and concerns.
Director of Technology Kristi Novak said the task force has met multiple times and aims to deliver draft guidance by the June 16 board meeting. She reported three sessions of stakeholder input — including student panels — and a forthcoming fourth session to review a draft guidance document.
Student voices and classroom pilots: Ben (a junior at Terralinda High School) told the board he uses AI to prepare for AP exams, to generate practice quizzes from his teachers’ review materials and to assist in design work; he urged that students be taught to use AI as a study tool rather than be blocked from it. Teacher-librarian Kendra Rose and other staff described pilots at multiple sites using Khan Academy’s classroom tools (Khanmigo/Conmigo) and other platforms (Canva AI, DiffIt) for differentiated reading levels, lesson planning, and a writing coach that provides feedback and flags originality concerns.
Classroom examples presented: Teachers demonstrated an activity where AI generated differentiated lesson plans for varying English-language proficiency levels, a hands-on economics activity for EL students, and an AI-enabled writing coach that leads students through outlining, drafting, and revision while logging interactions for teacher review. Rose said the Conmigo writing coach produced “specific, actionable feedback” that both teachers and students found valuable and that classroom teams reported improvements across student-writing samples.
Concerns and safeguards: Trustees asked about plagiarism detection and the burden on teachers to monitor many student-AI interactions. Teachers said district pilots paired Conmigo with monitoring tools (Turnitin and Chrome-management software) and classroom management systems that let teachers view student screens during class. Staff emphasized professional development, clear usage protocols, and phased rollouts to manage workload and uphold academic integrity. Novak said the task force will include safety, privacy, and professional development recommendations in its draft guidance.
Why it matters: The district seeks a middle path between banning student AI and unregulated use. Board members and staff framed AI as an equity and career-readiness issue — a tool that can scale individualized feedback where teacher time is limited — while underscoring the need for teacher training and parent outreach before broad adoption.
