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Weston presents cautious, education‑focused approach to AI after staff training
Summary
District technology leads told the board they conducted 12 professional learning sessions on AI and instructional tools, reported positive staff feedback and a student‑facing rollout limited to high school, and said procurement is paused while the district vets privacy and instructional fit.
Dan DeVito, the district’s information‑technology presenter, told the Weston Board the district focused this year on staff capacity and a cautious rollout of artificial‑intelligence tools in classrooms.
At a board meeting presentation, DeVito said the district held 12 targeted professional learning sessions and that of roughly 120 participants providing feedback, “nearly 86 reported a substantial increase in their comfort level and understanding of how generative AI can be intentionally and applied safely in education.” He said the district formed an AI advisory committee and certified library/media staff through Panorama’s AI literacy course to lead school‑based professional learning.
The presentation listed school‑level examples of instruction‑adjacent uses: teachers using Canva for student projects, VR headsets for a middle‑school Anne Frank unit, and AI‑wrapped instructional software to provide iterative feedback on student writing. DeVito said only high‑school students currently have access to AI tools while younger grades build foundational understanding.
Board members asked for concrete classroom examples and how the district prevents overdependence on tools. A staff presenter described classroom safeguards, emphasis on digital citizenship and academic integrity, and student involvement in evaluating tools’ usefulness. The district also emphasized student privacy and limited vendor choices: “We ask, do not use ChatGPT. You can use Gemini because Gemini complies,” DeVito said.
Presenters said the district has temporarily paused purchasing a single district‑wide AI product while it evaluates existing Google‑based tools, privacy compliance, and teacher feedback to determine whether additional purchases are necessary.
The district framed its approach as incremental: build teacher capacity first, pilot tools in controlled contexts, and expand curricular AI literacy at the high‑school level. The board was invited to review classroom artifacts and attend an academic‑year review session to see examples of student work generated with instructional tools.
Next steps include continued professional development, ongoing review of instructional AI tools for privacy and impact, and exploration of expanded AI literacy coursework at the high school level.
