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Alexandria schools present AI guidance to board; task force urges staff training and ethical guardrails
Summary
District technology staff and a cross‑functional AI task force presented guidance for 'responsible use' of artificial intelligence in classrooms and operations. Teachers cited practical uses (personalization, feedback) and concerns (academic integrity, student privacy), and the board discussed next steps on policy and staff training.
Kevin Brezina introduced the Alexandria Public Schools artificial intelligence task force and presented draft guidance developed by a cross‑functional team of teachers, administrators and students. He described the guidance’s emphasis on "responsible use," disclosure when staff or students use AI, preserving originality and ethics, and ongoing review as tools and risks evolve.
Jan Fonazo, a high‑school business education teacher who served on the committee, described classroom examples: using AI to personalize reading‑level materials, to provide rapid feedback to students on writing without rewriting their work, and to support English‑language learners. "I was able to set up an AI tool to give students writing feedback but tell the tool, 'don't rewrite the paragraphs for them,'" Jan said, as an example of how teachers can put guardrails around outputs.
Speakers on the committee flagged several concerns: academic integrity (how to determine whether work is student‑generated), student privacy and data protection, legal uncertainty as regulation evolves, potential mental‑health or attention harms, and uneven educator proficiency with the tools. Kevin told the board the committee provided staff training on March 31 and made online training available to employees for one year; he said the district currently uses Google Gemini and experiments with education‑flavored tools such as MagicSchool and Copilot.
Board members asked how early in schooling the district plans to introduce AI concepts; staff said the guidance recommends limited student use in early‑elementary grades and more staff‑led, age‑appropriate instruction in upper elementary and secondary grades. The committee recommended continuing staff development, involving parents in future outreach, and measuring classroom impacts as implementation proceeds.
The board discussed policy and legal oversight, with members asking that the guidance remain under continuous review and that parents and staff be engaged before expanded student use. The presentation concluded with board interest in a future work session and ongoing committee updates.
