GBAPS to launch two AI use, literacy lessons for K-12 students

The Green Bay School District is planning to introduce lessons on artificial intelligence and how to use it, starting with students as early as kindergarten, district technology leaders announced Sept. 14.

“This is what we’re going to call the start of AI in our district, even though we know it’s been around for a while,” Amy Jaeckel, executive director of technology and information for GBAPS, said.

The district plans to provide two AI lessons from September through November: one on the definition of AI and types of AI, and another on the district’s responsible AI use policy and academic integrity. There'll be lessons made to be appropriate for four age ranges: kindergarten to second grade, third to fifth grade, sixth to eighth grade and ninth to 12th grade.

It’s also started putting up posters about its AI use guidelines in classrooms, Jaeckel said. Her department created a “traffic light” of when to use and not use AI, similar to some other districts.

“We need to make sure that we’re working with our staff members so that AI is not being used to create the thing that is being learned,” Jaeckel said, crediting the idea to a curriculum leader. “If we’re learning how to write topic sentences, we need to do that on our own and not have the AI do that. However, if we’re being graded on a presentation and we’re being graded on the content and not how it looks, maybe we can use AI to make it look pretty but not put the content in.”

Green Bay administrators first developed AI guidelines in 2024. Over the past school year, the district has been looking at what implementing AI would look like. Staff were sent lessons on the district’s approved AI tools and how to use them last winter, and optional AI lessons were shared with students at the end of last school year. Jaeckel said at the board meeting that staff feedback on the lessons was positive.

What are the district’s AI policies now?

GBAPS policy states the district generally treats generative AI as another classroom resource, but that staff can only use AI tools approved by the district. They’re not to be used as curriculum, a writing tool or a replacement for human instruction.

The school district currently allows staff to use Brisk, Canva, Microsoft CoPilot, Gemini and NotebookLM for instruction, according to its website.

Students in eighth through 12th grade have access to a private chatbot with specific safety guardrails through its internet filter system; if they search for other AI systems, school computers should redirect them to the internal private chatbot. Students under eighth grade do not have access to AI tools, according to Elizabeth Chavez, a district technology integrator.

What did school board members say?

School Board members weighed in at the Sept. 14 meeting with questions on security, cost and parent communication.

School Board president James Lyerly, who works professionally in products and technology, asked about whether trainings on district-approved AI tools are being updated as technology rapidly advances. Chavez said the district’s AI implementation team is still meeting regularly and will be able to push out new lessons going forward.

He and the district also clarified that the district is using the free version of Gemini and CoPilot, apart from a handful of purchased licenses used by district programmers. Student and district data is explicitly private, Jaeckel said.

One of the student representatives said she'd just been talking to her brother about the possibility of a class on how to use AI, and Chavez said she’d heard that from other students.

Board member Alex Mineau asked if there was anything on the AI horizon that could negatively impact the district. It always comes down to digital safety, regardless of whether AI is involved or not, Jaeckel said. Chavez added that government guidelines are constantly being updated, so they have to stay on top of those changes.

Board member Jeanette Knill asked how the district is getting parents on board to make sure they don’t encourage students to use AI for learning, and Jaeckel directed her to the district’s online AI guidance and said it’s being regularly communicated in newsletters.

Board member Andrew Becker said he trusts the school district more than federal guidance, and he hopes that the district appropriately weighs changes with that in mind.

Contact Green Bay education reporter Nadia Scharf at nscharf@usatodayco.com or on X at @nadiaascharf.