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Kings Local advances AI literacy with teacher-led pilot, draft guidelines coming
Summary
Kings Local staff formed an AI thought-leaders group of 34 teachers and administrators that met seven times to develop guidance and classroom practices; the district plans to finalize draft AI guidelines and pilot student projects.
Kings Local district leaders said a teacher-led pilot program and an AI “thought leaders” cohort are producing draft guidance for ethical classroom use of artificial intelligence and new lesson designs that will be phased into district instruction.
Superintendent Sears and Director of Teaching and Learning Matt Freeman described the initiative as part of the district’s broader “future focused” learning work. Freeman said the district partnered with ForwardEdge and convened a 34-member cohort that met seven half-day sessions this year to develop an AI guidebook for staff and students.
Diane (identified in the presentation as a lead facilitator) said the cohort’s work covered AI history, how models source data, acceptable classroom uses, and concerns such as student data privacy. She said the district has a draft guideline and expects to finalize it for presentation to the board.
Teachers who participated presented classroom examples. Warren Hicks, a sixth-grade math teacher at Columbia, described using SchoolAI as a platform to create differentiated student learning activities and a “sidekick” chatbot he configured to explain steps without providing direct answers. “I can see what every single student is searching for,” Hicks said, explaining he uses that data to target instruction and avoid calling out students publicly.
Jake Rupp, who teaches iTime for fifth and sixth graders, said students are already using AI in school and that the district should teach usage openly: “We can either embrace the use of AI or run from it.” Anne Livingston (eighth-grade science) and Joy McGee (social studies) described tools they use to generate study guides, mind maps and interactive activities (identified in the presentation as NotebookLM, SchoolAI and CuriePod among others).
Freeman said the district’s aim is twofold: increase teacher efficiency and boost student engagement and achievement, while also addressing ethics and data privacy. The district plans to curate a pilot project for fifth- and sixth-graders with ForwardEdge and present finalized guidelines to the board when complete.
