District outlines AI literacy pilot and teacher training; expands lessons next year

Two district instructional coaches, Amy Peters and Lissa Bailey, presented the district's AI literacy work and next steps. They described professional development provided earlier in the year by Amanda Bickerstaff, pilot units grounded in CSTA learning priorities, and classroom exit‑ticket data showing student learning gains. "When we are talking about AI literacy, what we really mean is helping our students to not only understand but be responsible users of AI," one presenter said.

This year's pilot involved 13 teachers and about 280 students at elementary grades; the presenters said next year all third through sixth graders will receive the unit, and secondary integration is planned for 2027–28 so teachers can embed AI use appropriately into curricula. The team is developing a vetting tool to evaluate AI products for human oversight, bias mitigation, student privacy and system integration; the document moves tools through multi‑step review beginning with the district technology director.

Presenters said they will share staff and student one‑page guidance and circulate a comprehensive 15‑page guideline document to the board when it is formatted for distribution. The district plans broad communication to parents and families about student guidelines and will continue committee work as state and national AI standards evolve.

Board members praised attention to "intellectual atrophy" as a potential pitfall and emphasized that curriculum should reinforce critical thinking and not create dependency on tools. Presenters said high‑school outcome data will be available after May 20 and that further steps will be guided by newly released state standards and committee review.