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Sequoia schools adopt Magic School as district AI tool after pilot; committee to craft policies
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Summary
The district announced adoption of Magic School after piloting two AI platforms; administrators said nearly 300 teachers used the tool in pilot to create 2,500 instructional resources and will form a working group to develop policies guided by new California AI guidance.
The Sequoia Union High School District announced at its March 4 board meeting that, following a fall pilot, it will adopt Magic School as the district’s instructional artificial intelligence platform and will convene an AI working group to develop policies and guidelines.
Director of Instructional Technology Barbara Reklis said the district used a measured, multi‑year approach to AI. "We took a measured approach to begin with … focusing on developing a shared understanding of what generative AI could do and how it could impact instruction," Reklis said. She reported 540 staff attendances across more than 20 AI professional‑learning sessions since 2023 and pilot usage metrics that district staff described as encouraging.
Pilot metrics and features Reklis said nearly 300 teachers used Magic School during the pilot to generate more than 2,500 instructional resources. She described teacher tools such as text levelers, activity and rubric generators and an exemplar/non‑exemplar comparison feature. Student features cited include a "quiz me" tool and a writing‑feedback coach intended to guide learning rather than simply provide answers.
Policy, privacy and working group Trustees questioned the proposed scope, membership and deliverables of the AI working group. Reklis said the district will pursue a two‑phase approach: a spring data‑gathering phase that solicits broad community feedback (students, parents, staff), followed by a fall working group focused on staff and policy drafting. She said the district will use California’s newly released AI guidance as a baseline for the forthcoming policies.
Board members raised privacy and grading concerns. Trustees asked whether Magic School uses externally hosted large language models, how the district can control base models, and whether student data remains within district controls. Reklis said privacy and data protections were investigated prior to piloting and that Magic School provides teacher oversight and in‑house protections; the district flagged further evaluation and ongoing oversight as part of committee work.
What happens next Administrators said the district will form the working group later this spring, develop draft policy language during the fall semester, and return policy proposals to the board for adoption. The presentation did not produce immediate board action; trustees asked for updates as the working group forms and the policy drafting process advances.
