Teaching Kids in the Age of AI

TCAPS educators and leadership share their perspectives on AI in the classroom

Few technological revolutions have reshaped our society more than artificial intelligence. Like the personal computer and internet before it, AI is transforming nearly every aspect of daily life, including the way students learn in our local schools.

A 2025 College Board survey found that close to 84 percent of high school students in the country reported using some form of generative AI for schoolwork, most commonly for brainstorming, revising essays, and conducting research. At the same time, the report also found that one in five schools in the country don’t have an official AI policy in place.

For Dr. Jessie Houghton, chief academic officer for Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS), finding the right balance between an adaptable AI policy and transparency with students and parents is key to keeping pace with the changing technology.

“It’s very clear to us now that we are not the keepers of knowledge,” Dr. Houghton says. “A lot of the work we do is about developing the thinking skills, the analytical skills, and the collaboration skills that will translate to whatever future endeavors [students] have.”

To navigate AI’s impacts in the classroom, TCAPS has created a formal AI policy developed by a committee of instructional coaches, teacher leaders, principals, and TCAPS’ Executive Director of Technology and Media Services, Evan Obranovic. A select group of students reviews the policy, and it undergoes yearly revisions.

How and When AI Is Used

Local students begin using AI tools in sixth grade, with targeted practice in math and English and AI-generated feedback. The students also receive their first Chromebook provided by the school district along with courses in digital literacy and internet and AI safety.

“We let parents know that their students have access to this AI tool that’s been vetted through all of our security and privacy layers,” Dr. Houghton says, adding that special protections exist to keep student and faculty data private.

TCAPS uses AI tools such as Gemini and Goblin Tools in the classroom. The district also uses filters and monitoring tools for general security, including alerts for self-harm and possible threats to others. Administrators can follow up on these flagged concerns individually, access screens, and alert teachers.

The software flags when students use generative AI for assignments, including if a text was copied and pasted into a document. Teachers can also use plagiarism-detection tools to compare their students’ work with other online material.

To help communicate when AI is acceptable to use in an assignment, TCAPS uses a three-color chart: red means no AI, yellow allows limited use with proper citation and documentation, and green encourages unrestricted use.

The Pros

Dr. Houghton says AI has shown some benefits to both students and teachers.

One benefit teachers cite is AI’s ability to engage an entire classroom at once, providing immediate, low-stakes feedback and questions that teachers may not have the capacity to offer every student individually. Teacher-provided AI tools with set parameters for learning and feedback can help students advance more quickly through activities while giving teachers insight into their thinking and learning styles.

When students get stuck on complicated problems at home, AI tools can help when teachers and parents are unavailable.

“If you’re a kid who’s taking honors physics, and you’re at home and you’re struggling, you could actually throw your physics problem into the bot the teacher has created, and it’s going to ask you questions or prompt you to look back at topics,” Dr. Houghton says.

The Cons

Even with its potential benefits, educators see downsides to the new technology. Dr. Houghton says her biggest worry is that, when used inappropriately, AI can keep students from working through the learning process themselves.

“During my undergrad, I got a lot of things wrong,” she says. “But all those wrong turns in my thinking, that’s how I learned.”

Educators like Traverse City Central High School Librarian and AP Research Instructor Larissa VanderZee agree.

“I think [using AI] becomes inappropriate when you say, ‘fix all of my mistakes,’” VanderZee says. In her AP writing class, VanderZee teaches her students how to fix their own writing, without asking AI. “They learn to cultivate their own voice, lean into their own creativity, and understand how to become a person who has authenticity in their writing and their own sense of self-efficacy in their learning, which I think is the most important part,” she says.

VanderZee also believes classroom AI tools can erode trust between students and teachers. “When students rely on AI and their teachers are questioning everything they do, that is a trust issue,” she explains.

Trust can be broken both ways, she adds, when students see their teachers over-relying on AI for feedback or lesson planning. “They feel like, ‘Wait, this is AI feedback. This is not my instructor’s feedback.’ ‘I can’t use it, so, if my teacher uses it, that’s not okay,’” VanderZee says. “They do not tolerate that, which I think is an interesting, reciprocal relationship.”

VanderZee says she notices many students refusing to use AI in coursework and at home.

“I think, as a whole, there are more students who feel like they don’t want to give away their learning,” VanderZee says. “Some students think, ‘no, this is great. This is an awesome tool. Why would I not use it?’ And then others say out loud, ‘I hate it. Don’t talk to me about AI.’”

Opting Out

Part of TCAPS’ standard practice is accommodating students and parents who object to using AI in the classroom.

“At the end of the day, if a parent says, ‘I don’t want my kid’s writing to be coached by an AI, or I do not want my student’s math homework to be looked at by an AI bot,’ then we obviously respect that and provide alternative opportunities for those students,” Dr. Houghton says.

New research on the risks of AI in schools has prompted some educators and school systems across the country to scale back the use of AI technology in classrooms. However, abstinence, Dr. Houghton believes, is not the best or most realistic answer to AI’s problems.

“My hesitation is, we have to propel these kids into the world,” she says. “Teaching them how to use things appropriately is really vital.”

Striking a Balance

Aimee Cole, a teacher at Traverse City West Senior High School, also believes that kids need to be familiar with the technology.

“I think it’s something that isn’t going away and it really needs to be discussed and taught,” she says. “Students need to understand how to evaluate this information and where it’s coming from.”

Cole says that, alongside proper AI education, educators should teach students the value of working through problems themselves rather than relying on quick answers from AI systems.

“That kind of friction is what builds their stamina, it builds their resilience, and they need to trust their own capable minds before running to AI,” she says. “But I also think it’s important to teach students how to use AI correctly and appropriately.”

As AI technology continues to evolve, TCAPS is staying current with the latest research and exploring creative ways to leverage AI’s benefits while safeguarding safeguards against potential harms.

“I don’t think that, long term, we’re at a point where we’re going into the land of ruinous demise, or a panacea for education,” VanderZee says. “But I think if we develop some policies and practices that allow for it to be used in a way that can support rather than overshadow, then kids can feel confident they can use it without it becoming a crutch.”

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