Holliston committee backs AI steering-panel recommendations, emphasizes teacher PD and student safeguards

The Holliston School Committee on March 12 heard a report from the district's AI steering committee that recommended scaling teacher professional development, adding ethics modules to classroom instruction, and piloting a red/yellow/green system to label assignments for permitted AI use.

The presentation, led by district technology staff involved in the steering committee, said the panel held four meetings and aligned its recommendations with guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The presenter reported 167 staff survey responses out of 207 employees (about an 81% response rate) and summarized adoption patterns and PD preferences.

'We had a 167 staff respondents out of 207 staff, and there was an 81% clip,' the presenter said, noting strong interest in short, practical demonstrations and incremental PD rather than full-day sessions.

A key finding was heavy informal use of AI by staff and students. The presenter said, 'As you'll see shortly, 60% of students at the high school level are using AI anyway,' and that '80% of the teachers that responded are using CHAT GPT.' The committee recommended encouraging staff to use a district-hosted tool (referred to in the presentation as Gemini) and to avoid entering personally identifiable information in external tools.

The presentation proposed a framework to guide classroom practice: red for no-AI assignments, yellow for limited uses such as brainstorming, and green where full AI is encouraged. The committee also suggested ethics modules to help students understand limitations of AI outputs and to address risks such as deepfakes and privacy exposure.

Jackson Catone, an 11-year-old sixth grader who served on the steering committee, described student concerns and his own approach. 'I use AI mostly just for facts or stuff I'm wondering about at home, or I use it when I'm practicing, say, math to check my answers,' he said, adding that he has not used AI for school assignments or tests.

Committee members asked how the district should encourage constructive use rather than driving students to circumvent blocks. Jackson suggested posting clear guidelines and reminders in school and online. Members also discussed forming a community of practice for administrators and continuing follow-up surveys to measure staff and student use.

The presenter closed by asking the committee for endorsement of the steering committee's recommendations and said the group had launched a public-facing web page listing members and proposals. The committee did not take a formal vote on district-wide policy at the meeting; members said they wanted to review the survey data and await some impending senior-leadership changes before adopting districtwide guidance.

The district plans to scale PD, finalize an AI toolbox, revise guidance language, and track staff use through ongoing surveys and administrator forums.