Lynbrook work session: district outlines K–12 rollout of Writing Revolution and classroom AI tool

The Lynbrook Union Free School District on Sept. 25 presented plans to expand the Writing Revolution program across kindergarten through 12th grade and to provide teachers district access to an AI lesson‑planning tool called “Judy AI.” Dr. Belekas told the board the initiative is designed to create a common, K–12 progression from oral language and grammar in early grades to advanced essay writing in high school.

Why it matters: District leaders said the Writing Revolution provides a consistent instructional framework so teachers need not reintroduce different strategies each year. Proponents said the program is intended to build the reasoning, causal‑analysis and composition skills needed for rigorous middle‑ and high‑school work.

Dr. Belekas described how the Writing Revolution emphasizes writing as a demonstration of comprehension and reasoning and said the approach “does operate K through 12.” He showed examples generated by the district’s AI tool, including a kindergarten‑level “because/but/so” worksheet based on a picture book and a high‑school social‑studies prompt about the First Continental Congress. “So realistically, you’re doing the same stuff on both ends here. However, the content is the driver,” he said.

District leaders said Judy AI produces full lesson materials, differentiation suggestions and follow‑up activities. Dr. Belekas said the tool reduced his own lesson‑planning time: two sample lessons “probably took me less than 5 minutes.” He added the tool recognized widespread texts (for example, a picture book about a pigeon) and provided anticipatory guidance for classroom responses.

Board members asked about teacher training and coverage. Dr. Belekas said roughly 100 staff were trained during the last school year and an additional 10–15 staff attended summer training, for about 115 staff trained in total. He estimated the number of teachers who teach core academic subjects at about 280, which board members used to approximate training coverage. “We have the capacity now also to turn key internally,” he said, noting the district purchased licenses for the AI tool to put on teacher devices.

Several board members and a science teacher praised the program’s promise of a single, districtwide instructional language. A board member asked whether the Writing Revolution would eliminate the high‑school writing lab; Dr. Belekas said the lab is a separate program (currently an eighth‑grade instructional period and a period‑and‑a‑half high‑school course) and that the lab “might evolve over time” as students enter with a stronger writing base, but he did not commit to eliminating the lab.

District staff described a bulk purchase of the AI tool licenses to make the resource available to teachers and said they are sequencing distribution and training. Exact per‑license pricing details in the presentation were unclear in the transcript and are being clarified by staff.

Looking ahead, the presenters said they will continue rolling out teacher training and will tie curriculum reports during the year to the district’s guiding “profile of the owl.”

The board covered the Writing Revolution implementation and the AI lesson‑planning tool during the curriculum portion of the Sept. 25 work session; no formal board action on the program was recorded.