Dr. Nye outlines three "promises" for classroom tech; parents urge faster safety steps

Dr. Nye told the Board of Education that the district's technology plan rests on three "promises": use technology only when it models how professionals in a field use tools or when it provides data that helps tailor instruction; teach students to choose the right tools; and prioritize student engagement before assigning technology-based work. He said the district's walk-throughs and a community survey ("hundreds" of responses) informed the proposals and that a near-final draft of K'8 outcomes should be ready by the end of the school year.

The presentation framed the debate about classroom technology within longer-term achievement trends and recent concerns about artificial intelligence. "We should only be using technology as a deliberate decision that does one of two things," Dr. Nye said, describing the criteria that would govern classroom use. He said the district is preparing curriculum and assessment changes so teachers can make consistent, standards-aligned choices and that pieces of the plan will be shared with the board and community through the spring and summer, with classroom implementation beginning next school year.

Board members pressed for practical next steps. Dr. Nye said the first deliverable is a district draft of the specific K'8 information-literacy and technology outcomes by year-end; refinement over the summer would allow common units and assessments to be aligned in September. He also described challenges in measuring technology's effects using standard state tests and said the district will develop internal measures and consider managerial tools (such as Securly) to report classroom usage to parents.

Parents who spoke during public comment urged faster, more concrete safety measures. Andrew Ormson said parents appreciate the district's engagement but warned against slow action: "We feel like we're in a speeding car driving at a 100 miles an hour, and we're headed directly for the edge of the cliff right now." He asked the board to include a "do no harm" principle in the plan. Julia Tallhammer urged a whitelist approach rather than relying on blacklists and cited incidents of students accessing inappropriate websites on Chromebooks. Helen Koster asked why Chromebooks remain usable during lunch and recess, saying students have used them to play games and encounter harmful content; she urged the district to prevent Chromebook use at those times so students interact in person.

Dr. Nye and other administrators acknowledged those concerns and pointed to the district's recently adopted AI policy and the forthcoming K'8 outcomes as governance tools that will guide teacher decision-making; they also emphasized the need to provide teachers with common expectations and tools so decisions are consistent and measured. He said New York State has signaled it will issue standards on AI instruction in the fall and that the district does not expect those standards to prohibit AI instruction outright.

Next steps: Dr. Nye said the district will circulate a detailed report of survey findings and walk-throughs that informed the three promises, provide a draft of K'8 outcomes before the school year ends, and begin aligning common units and assessments over the summer so classroom changes can start next September.