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Board hears AI update: college‑counseling assistant, Skillstruck, robotics pilots and student-facing AI tools
Summary
Tracy presented an overview of Sage Oak's AI work, including pilots of an AI college‑counseling assistant, closed‑system tutors through Skillstruck, early robotics classes and classroom chatbots for bias awareness and personalized learning.
Tracy, education leader for Sage Oak's AI and innovation work, updated the board on multiple pilots and classroom initiatives that aim to introduce students and families to artificial intelligence while building staff capacity and protecting student data.
Tracy framed the work as both opportunity and responsibility: "I'm completely obsessed with AI as well and all of the opportunities that it could offer our students," she said, and she cautioned that "as much as AI can help us in many different ways, it can also hinder us. So if it's reinforcing the biasness that's already out there, then that can hinder us." The presentation emphasized practical pilots, training and equity safeguards.
Key initiatives described
- College-counseling assistant (EVA): The district is piloting an AI-enabled counseling assistant integrated into a college network counseling service. Staff said counselors nationwide contribute the content used by the assistant; the pilot involves the high-school counseling team and high-school counselor Coral.
- Closed AI tutors and Skillstruck: Tracy described a rollout of Skillstruck for computer-science pathways and a closed-AI tutoring environment that protects student data while offering subject-specific AI tutors and industry-recognized certification pathways for high-school students.
- Robotics and curriculum pilots: The district piloted elementary robotics and plans middle-school robotics next year. Examples shown include buildable robots (Rolly, Rover, humanoid and hexapod models) combined with AI programming exercises.
- Student-facing activities and equity work: Presenters showed examples of chatbots that allow students to compare historical figures and to examine bias, and shared a short video used to help students visualize future careers. Tracy also described the Magic School certificate program used to teach students about reliable sources and AI limitations.
Board reaction and next steps
Board members responded positively and requested follow-up items. Susan said she was "getting goosebumps" at the slides. Members discussed workforce implications—one board member said reskilling and upskilling will be needed as AI changes job requirements. Staff said they are training teachers and rolling the Skillstruck resource into classroom Clever accounts so teachers and students can access a school‑controlled AI tutor.
Ending
No formal action was taken. The board encouraged continued piloting, staff training and attention to equity, data privacy and long‑term credentialing pathways for students interested in AI and computer science.
