Vivi Pierce, a Braintree parent and veteran teacher, urged the School Committee on Dec. 8 to commission a K–12 educational-technology review to guide the district’s use of digital tools.

Pierce, who identified herself as a parent of a Flaherty student and a teacher with 15 years’ experience, said the review should determine the ages at which tools are appropriate, how much screen time students should have in school and at home, the extent of off‑task or harmful behavior that has occurred on school devices, and whether EdTech products measurably improve learning compared with non‑digital alternatives. “Just because we can doesn’t necessarily mean that we should,” she told the committee, repeating an observation she said an AI expert shared with her.

Pierce listed examples of platforms commonly used in classrooms — Google Classroom, Freckle Math, Edpuzzle, Kahoot and Gimkit — and asked the district to survey students, parents, teachers and administrators as part of any review. She volunteered to serve as a parent representative on a subcommittee if one is formed.

District officials did not commit to a timeline for a formal review during the meeting but acknowledged EdTech’s expanded role, noting the district has adopted multiple platforms and is balancing instructional needs such as MCAS testing on screens. The superintendent later highlighted that the district plans a January demonstration of its Open Architects platform and additional conversations about data use and implementation.

Next steps: committee members asked for further information about current platforms and asked administration to bring a demonstration of district EdTech systems to a January meeting so members can assess scope and data practices.