SOUTH DEERFIELD — To keep up with the tides of technology, Frontier Regional School classrooms are addressing artificial intelligence (AI) in their lessons this school year.
Before the school year started, Superintendent Darius Modestow said he encouraged teachers to address generative AI in their curriculum and syllabi, and offered guidance and recommendations to help “invite the conversation about AI” in classrooms.
Modestow said in a phone interview that the district also added to the plagiarism section of its handbook, outlining an appeals process for students accused of cheating with AI. He told the Frontier School Committee on Tuesday that the appeals process arose from a close look at lawsuits across the state involving accusations of cheating with AI.
“Having an appeals process allows us to stay academic-forward, I believe, not just punitive, and really look at the details of something if it were to come up,” Modestow told the School Committee.
In an email, Modestow wrote that teachers will also undergo training in October for addressing AI. He added that the school is currently piloting Brisk Teaching and MagicSchool, with plans to finalize the purchase by the end of September. The two platforms provide AI tools that are designed to assist teachers with daily responsibilities like creating lesson plans, quizzes and presentations as well as grading.
In a phone interview, Modestow said the technology also reveals students’ uses of AI in assignments. He added that this use can range from idea generation for a paper topic to writing and editing it with AI’s help.
Besides plagiarism, Modestow and Frontier Regional School Principal George Lanides said teachers will draw the line between using AI for shortcuts and support in their assignments. Lanides said in a phone interview that Frontier educators’ approaches range from treating AI as a tool to “a hinderance to critical thinking.”
“There are teachers on different sides of the spectrum regarding AI,” Lanides said. “As a school, we have to be mindful of that.”
With its wide popularity, Modestow stressed that enforcing a district-wide AI ban would be a disservice to students.
“It’s a tool that’s going to be available to students when they exit Frontier, and while it can lead to a lot of misuse and plagiarism … they need to understand how it’s going to affect them in the job world,” Modestow said. “The school has to have a role in helping students understand AI and how it can be used as a tool, and how it can be abused as a tool.”
He added that many students are eager to learn the correct ways to use AI.
“You’ve got to teach time and place,” Modestow continued. “If you take [AI] away, are you teaching them time and place?”
Modestow expects the district’s approach toward AI will evolve as AI evolves.
“We have to have guardrails in place here,” he said. “The road we’re going down is going to change a lot.”
Ahead of the school year, Massachusetts education officials released statewide guidance for AI, including a learning module for educators and a document titled “Massachusetts Guidance for Artificial Intelligence in K-12 Evidence.”
“The goal of this resource is not to promote or discourage the use of AI. Instead, it offers essential guidance to help educators think critically about AI — and to decide if, when, and how it might fit into their professional practice,” reads the start of the learning module.
The public guide includes recommended action steps for integrating AI into school districts using “core district commitments.” These commitments include approaching AI integration as a long-term, multi-phase process; building cross-functional and inclusive leadership teams; grounding guidance in shared understanding of AI; treating policy and practices as living documents; involving educators, families and other staff in the process; and coordinating across departments and roles prioritizing long-term equity and impact.
New positions
Lanides told the Frontier School Committee that changes this school year also entail new support staff, including a youth wellness coach who is working in the school two days a week. According to Lanides, Massachusetts General Hospital funded the new position and collaborated with the school to establish the youth wellness coach for supporting the social and emotional needs of students.
The school is also seeking a family outreach liaison, a new part-time position at Frontier that will be funded using a Public School Districts’ Opioid Recovery Trust grant.
In a phone interview, Lanides elaborated that the liaison will help “bridge the gap” between students’ families and the school, assisting parents and guardians with navigating the PowerSchool platform and other school services. He anticipates the part-time liaison will also help with attendance issues by providing a clear line of communication between families and schools.
Summer projects
During Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, Modestow also discussed several repairs that were accomplished over the summer, including a new fire alarm system. He said the $495,660 project, which included a new panel and alarms, will help ensure better fire safety. With $4,000 left, he noted that a few fixes remain, including repairs to the gymnasium’s alarms.
Other summer projects included the installation of a new LED sign outside the school, new lighting for the flagpole and auditorium, black refinishing of the auditorium and the replacement of broken alarms in the bathrooms.
Arts program donation
Lanides also told School Committee members that the school received a $5,000 donation from Arthur Neally Thompson in honor of his late wife, Margaret “Peggy” Thompson. A Frontier Class of 1962 alumna, Peggy Thompson died on July 12. The donation will fund repairs to the school’s kiln as a continuation of her passion for art and pottery.
