Bastrop ISD teachers say school-approved AI tool gives students immediate, rubric-based feedback

Teachers at Cedar Creek Middle School told the Bastrop ISD board that the district-approved Magic School AI platform is being used in reading and writing instruction to give students real-time, rubric-based feedback and to support revision. "When students work in Magic School, the AI guides them through their writing and teachers can view the conversations students are having with the tool," teacher Maquisha Kennedy said during the board's "Mission Moment."

Kennedy and colleague Alexandra Guzman described a workflow in which teachers load a passage, a prompt and a grading rubric into Magic School so students receive feedback tied specifically to the school'district rubrics. "The AI provides immediate rubric based feedback on their writing," Kennedy said, adding that feedback "highlights each student's strengths and identifies specific areas for improvement." A student who spoke, Charlotte, told the board she liked that the system "grades my writing based on the ECR or SER rubric and tells me my strengths and what improvements I need to make."

Administrators said the tool is configured so students must submit their own work for critique and that Magic School will not simply generate a full essay on request. "One of my students asked it to write their essay for them, and it wouldn't," a teacher told the board, saying the platform provides targeted guidance instead of complete answers. Teachers also said the platform can produce an AI-usage score to indicate whether a composition shows signs of AI generation.

Board members asked about differences between public-facing models such as ChatGPT and Magic School. Kennedy said district use differs because teachers supply the rubric and prompts, keeping feedback aligned to specific grading criteria. The district said not all campuses use Magic School at the same level and that selected classrooms have piloted the approach; staff said they will present their practices at a January professional conference so other teachers can learn from the pilot.

District officials emphasized monitoring and safeguards. The teachers said coaches and administrators conduct classroom visits and review student work and that students can request additional feedback or make revisions before final grading. "The AI helps remove the fear of failure and encourages them to revise, confidently," Kennedy said.

The presentation concluded with administrators saying the district has approved Magic School for classroom use under current instructional guidance and will continue training and oversight as use expands.