Pine Street students show project work using Microsoft Copilot; teacher frames tool as student support

Datina Haynes Williams, principal of Pine Street Elementary School, introduced a demonstration of how gifted students used Microsoft Copilot in classroom projects.

"This video features one of our early adopters, a teacher using AI as a part of a structured guided lesson to enhance instruction and student engagement," Haynes Williams told the board before Mr. Scott Pepperman described the classroom unit.

Pepperman said teachers used a professional learning session to explore AI and then adapted the approach for student work. For a third-grade sequential-arts unit, students used Copilot to convert a math problem into a comic script; for a fourth-grade "choose your own adventure" business-themed writing unit Copilot provided starting ideas that students revised into their final products.

Students who spoke to the board said they used the tool as a brainstorming or organizational aid rather than as a substitute for their work. "Some people might think that's cheating, but it's not cheating because I'm telling AI what information to find and then I choose which ideas to keep," said Sky, a Program Challenge student. Lily and several peers described the tool as helping them organize ideas and prompting revisions.

Pepperman emphasized classroom guardrails: students were asked to try on their own first, then use Copilot when stuck, and teachers ensured the final product represented students' thinking. The principal invited the community to the district's spring project-based learning showcase to view student work using AI.

No formal board action was taken on the classroom demonstration; the presentation served as an informational highlight of instructional practice.