Grafton tech staff detail device rollouts, Freshdesk ticketing and AI guidance

Grafton Public Schools technology coordinator Maureen Malloy told the school committee on Dec. 9 that the district completed summer device deployments, upgrades to phone and printing systems, and infrastructure work including new projectors and cameras at the high school. "We implemented anonymous alerts at GHS and JMS," Malloy said, referencing the high school and middle school safety tool now in use.

Malloy reviewed staffing and operational work: PowerSchool rollover, state reporting, onboarding new staff accounts, and a move to Freshdesk for internal ticketing. She described student-device work the department completed over the summer, including preparing carts and reclaiming graduating seniors' devices.

Christa LeBrun, the district's AI integration and digital learning specialist, outlined a tiered support model for teachers and an AI "stoplight" that categorizes classroom tasks as red (do not use), yellow (consult teacher) or green (approved uses). "We did use Chat GPT and Gemini," LeBrun said of the tools teachers piloted when aligning curriculum with accreditation requirements; she characterized those uses as starting points that save teachers time rather than replacements for professional work.

LeBrun said the district is forming an AI task force to translate state guidance into local policy and build a dashboard documenting tool functions and age restrictions. In response to questions about student privacy and age limits, LeBrun said the district is favoring tools such as Google Gemini that the district believes do not use user input to retrain public models and that it is cataloguing age restrictions before wider classroom use.

The presentations closed with an invitation for committee members to raise questions as the district finalizes classroom guidance. Administrators said public-facing materials describing the tech plan and the AI task force' work will be updated online.

The next administrative appearance on tech will be when the committee receives updates tied to teacher professional development and the district's AI policy deliberations.