Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools recently held a summit for district and community leaders to discuss artificial intelligence in schools. It’s the latest step in the district’s efforts to establish guidelines on student and staff AI use in the classroom.
The summit came on the heels of a community-wide AI survey that signaled both an eagerness to explore AI use in schools and concern about academic integrity.
Rebecca Lehtinen, CMS’ executive director of educational technology, said the district is updating its professional development, creating guidelines for staff and student use and working AI literacy into K-12 curriculum.
“The focus is really not on just teaching students, like, to avoid misuse, but, like, guiding them on the responsible, reflective ways they can strengthen their learning," she said.
Staff members will get training on AI, ethical considerations and data privacy — and CMS will tie access to AI tools to completion of this training, Lehtinen said.
“We’re not opening all AI tools,” she said. “We’re being very strategic about the ones that we open, provide training and then use.”
Lehtinen says speakers at the summit discussed the importance of teaching students AI skills to prepare them for the workforce, while also weighing concerns about data privacy and academic integrity.
CMS has created a steering committee to make decisions and ensure community concerns are considered.
Lehtinen said CMS has been a leader in implementing AI in the classroom. The district will publicly unveil its vision and guiding principles on AI at the end of June.
