By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — Westport’s public school district is one of several statewide selected to pilot artificial intelligence as a classroom tool, according to Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice.

This development comes as some Board of Education members question the district’s pursuit of AI as an initiative, strategic or otherwise.

Scarice told the school board last week administrators jumped at the opportunity to submit an application for a state grant and learned that day, Jan. 9, that it was selected.

Chosen school districts will receive grants between $50,000 and $100,000 to work with one of five AI vendors chosen by the state.

“The [state] does not give much time to consider all the variables as they would like our AI education tool selected by January 24,” Scarice board told the board in a memo.

Participating districts will have until June to pilot the programs and report back.

Last July, the state passed legislation authorizing the state Department of Education to administer an artificial intelligence education tool pilot program that measures the impact of AI on classroom planning, learning outcomes and workforce readiness skills.

Connecticut joins a growing number of states formulating AI guidance.

As of September, nearly half of all states are actively exploring the use of AI, according to a report in “Education Week,” a national trade publication. Some states, according to the report, now have education department positions dedicated to AI implementation in grades K-12.

It was not immediately clear the other Connecticut school districts selected to run pilot AI programs.

On Tuesday, Matthew Cerrone, a state Department of Education spokesman, issued a brief statement acknowledging the six-month pilot program, supported by grant funding, to integrate AI tools into classroom instruction across seven districts, focusing on grades 7-12.

“This initiative aims to provide students with hands-on experience in emerging technologies while fostering critical digital literacy and problem-solving skills,” Cerrone said. 

“Participating districts will serve as innovation hubs, utilizing state-approved AI tools aligned with educational standards,” he added.

Additional details about the program, including the grant funding and its goals, will be released later this week, Cerrone said.

According to guidance Westport received, the approved vendors include SNORKL, MagicSchoolAI, SchoolAI, CK12Foundation and Cloud Navigator.

The district plans to use a consultant used in the past on AI matters to help select the AI tool among the five options.

Westport also has set up a team to work on the pilot, including Technology Director Natalie Carrignan, Assistant Supt. Anthony Buono, Science Coordinator John DeLuca, Bedford Middle School Principal Adam Rosen and Bedford Assistant Principal Jonathan Adams, according to Scarice.

Although still a work in progress, the plan is to have one team of teachers at Bedford and a small group of Staples High School science teachers use AI material in their classrooms, according to a four-page memo Scarice sent the school board over the weekend.

Success, according to the memo, will be measured based on student engagement and feedback, teacher effectiveness and student-teacher interaction.

Scarice told the board in December he wants to switch out one of the district’s strategic goals — one to help students solve problems collaboratively — with a deep dive into harnessing the powers of AI to enhance student learning.

Westport public schools “can seize this moment to establish itself as the model of excellence in public schooling in the age of AI,” Scarice said at the time.

Some board members skeptical

In December, several board members had questions about the initiative.

That skepticism remains judging by reaction to Scarice’s announcement during the school board meeting last week, particularly when members learned the AI pilot would involve students.

“For me preliminary, I would be … concerned not really knowing what we are doing,” said board member Kevin Christie.

He and others also questioned whether the AI pilot would take away from other ongoing district initiatives, such as a three-year diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.

“What do you intend to take off our plate to address this?” asked board member Jill Dillon.

Scarice said the idea is to build on what the district is already doing and use AI to become more efficient.

“Our approach is we’d like to push the envelope and go kind of bold on the teaching and learning side for students,” he said. The intent, he added, is to use AI in ways that will accelerate student thinking, not supplant it.

The pilot, the superintendent said, does not involve a curriculum but rather tools to help take existing lessons to a deeper level.

Christie said participating in a pilot makes it seem like the AI initiative “is happening,” even if some are not sold on it.

AI is in front of students now, Scarice said, adding the district can walk away from the initiative if the board chooses.

The state has indicated there are several other school districts in the wings should any selected districts pull out of the pilot.

Board member Robert Harrington sees it differently. “I would go and get more pilots. Go faster and be bolder,” he said.

He suggested the board would be micro-managing to stop the superintendent from engaging in a $50,000 to $100,000 pilot program.

Scarice promised to keep the board up to date as the pilot program progresses.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.