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Avon Grove rolls out LinkIt data warehouse, expands student tech crews and pilots classroom AI
Summary
District IT described LinkIt adoption for common assessments and interventions, expanded student technician programs and makerspace equipment, and reported early use metrics for AI tools (Magic School K–5; Brisk Teaching 6–12). An eighth‑grade student demonstrated how classroom AI guided reading/writing lessons.
Avon Grove School District staff told the education committee on Oct. 2 that the district has completed a summer rollout of the LinkIt data warehouse and is training administrators and teacher leaders to use it for interventions and for building common assessments.
District IT staff said teachers have responded positively to LinkIt’s ability to consolidate aimsweb, IXL, Exact Path and local common‑assessment data into a single reporting environment. Administrators previewed teacher training already completed and said more training for building leaders and PLC teacher‑leaders is scheduled.
The district also expanded hands‑on student technology staffing. Summer technology interns supported Chromebook and projector maintenance; the Dell student tech crew has grown from five to ten certified student technicians who already have serviced more than 1,061 devices districtwide. IT staff said the student crew reduces repair turnaround time and provides an ongoing technical resource at the high school.
A new makerspace at the high school received a vinyl cutter, a water‑jet cutter and a bank of large monitors. A makerspace liaison and supplemental sponsor will facilitate after‑school access; a public open house is set for Nov. 11.
Artificial‑intelligence classroom pilots are live across grades: Magic School is available to K–5 teachers and students; Brisk Teaching (a browser/Chrome‑extension tool used at grades 6–12) is in use at the secondary level. District use statistics presented to the board showed 69 Magic School “generations” in September (about 55% instructional material creation and 45% communication/planning support) and roughly 2,092 Brisk Teaching actions recorded in August–September for activities such as text modification, feedback and writing inspection. IT staff said English teachers have been among the heaviest users for feedback on student writing.
In a classroom demonstration, Avon Grove Middle School eighth‑grader Landon Dubicki explained using Brisk Teaching on a Fahrenheit 451 assignment. He praised features that keep students on task, provide scaffolded questions, read aloud and translate text and avoid supplying direct answers while guiding students toward textual evidence. A teacher view shown to the committee tracked student progress against four learning objectives and displayed objective‑level status for individual students.
District leaders said early responses from staff have been positive but training and guardrails will continue as usage expands.
