Somerville rolls out AI curriculum, teacher training after competitive grants

Ariel, the district—s director of 21st-century education and school safety specialist, told the Somerville Board on Sept. 9 that competitive grants are funding professional development, vetted classroom tools and new curriculum to bring artificial intelligence into instruction.

Ariel said Somerville is one of ten New Jersey public school districts selected for an "AI Innovation in Education" competitive grant; the state has labelled the cohort "Vanguard Districts." The district is working with NJIT and the state department on pilot work and presentations.

She described two classroom tools in pilots: SchoolAI, a closed, district-managed large-language-model environment for safe teacher and student prompts, and Snorkel (a guided coaching/whiteboard tool) for math practice and formative feedback. "We really want them to say——grammatize this paper using this rubric. Suggest how I can learn," Ariel said, describing how a middle-school language-arts class used SchoolAI in a five-step revision process that emphasized student ownership and metacognition.

Ariel said teacher capacity-building is the bulk of grant spending: department-based PD, AI teacher leaders in every department, and librarian-led, K—2 information-literacy curriculum guides to teach ethical and effective AI use. She said the district has integrated AI into visual and performing arts and grades 3—5 STEM pilots and that a new AI and ethics high-school course, funded by a separate $64,000 grant, will launch in the second semester with no prerequisites.

Examples Ariel gave included a math-class pilot where Snorkel grouped students by common misunderstandings so teachers could provide targeted instruction, and a high-school English assignment where students revised a handwritten "sloppy copy," used SchoolAI to refine vocabulary, and were graded on effective, non-plagiaristic integration of AI in their revised draft.

Ariel said the district will measure success by three outcomes: teachers redesign instruction, students create with AI, and the program helps close equity gaps. She said the district is purposefully focusing on ethical use and sustainability: "Will this improve teaching and learning? Can every student and teacher benefit? And is it sustainable beyond one year?" she said.

Questions from board members confirmed Snorkel is presently adopted at elementary levels and some high-school math teachers, while SchoolAI is a brand-new pilot launched under the grant. Ariel said more PD and curriculum materials will follow and outlined plans for summer 2026 robotics outreach and continued equipment evaluation before large purchases.

Ending: The board thanked Ariel and the administration for the presentation and signaled ongoing oversight as pilots and PD proceed.