Trumansburg school board considers AI classroom adoption

An Ithaca College administrator delivered a presentation on how the Trumansburg Central School District (TCSD) could use artificial intelligence in the classroom at the Nov. 18 board of education meeting. TCSD Board of Education members said that they want to give the divisive technology a chance.

Jenna Linskens, director of Ithaca College’s Center for Instructional Design & Educational Technology, presented on the perks of AI in the classroom at the board’s Nov. 18 meeting. Linskens’ presentation comes at a time when more and more of the U.S. economy becomes dependent on the success of AI. 

The New York Times reported earlier this month that investments in computer equipment and software accounted for more than 90% of growth in gross domestic product in the first half of the year.

Yet education professionals are skeptical of the uses of AI in the classroom.

About a third, or 35%, of high school teachers surveyed in a Pew Research Center study from 2024 on AI in education, say that AI tools do more harm than good. Roughly a quarter, or 24%, of middle school teachers, and 19% of elementary school teachers say the same.

Fewer than one in 10 teachers at all levels say that these tools do more good than harm. The number of teachers who say they are unsure about the impact of AI tools in K-12 education is significant, with 47% of elementary school teachers saying they are not sure. That is much larger than the shares of middle and high school teachers who say this.

Students, however, have mostly adopted the technology, according to the study. Almost 20% of teenage-aged students say that they have used ChatGPT, one of the largest AI services in the world, for their school work.

Locally, throughout the fall, Lansing was the center of a conflict that involved the town board, TeraWulf — an AI company — and agitated community members divided into camps in favor of and opposed to a proposed AI data center. 

The siege culminated in two established board members vying in a contested election against write-in pro-data center candidates, who emerged due to some residents’ discontent with the town board. In the aftermath, TeraWulf will appeal rejections of its data center proposal, which would see the repurposing of the Cayuga Power Plant, at the Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 10. 

After a presentation at the Nov. 18 board of education meeting, Linskens said that the district could automate some educational functions, provide more interactive learning experiences, better support research and analysis, make more data-informed decisions, enhance communication and improve professional support. 

Linskens said that the district must prepare its students for the job market of the future.

“You have to understand how AI is impacting your industry if you’re going into any type of job market or higher ed,” she noted. “It is not going to be the traditional careers that we thought of five years ago, 10 years ago. Our career paths are changing faster because of the technology around us.”

Linskens said that some of the tasks outlined in her presentation are already being experimented on with AI at TCSD. 

“I’ve had the privilege of working with teachers at the middle school and high school over the summer and this fall in a book club, because they’re taking the opportunity to just start learning what AI is and how they can use it,” Linskens said. “So, through strategies, we can focus on the people, not the tech. We’re going to always keep our mind on our students and our people. We’re not going to focus on the tech. The tech isn’t the solution, but the tech is something we need to learn how to use.”

“We should not be afraid to try something,” Board Member James Kemmerer said at the meeting.

Overall, Linskens said that it will be important for the district to have policies in place for AI usage in the future, as the technology becomes more ubiquitous.

“If we set hard stone policies and guidelines that aren’t flexible, we’re not going to be able to adapt as quickly,” she noted. “So, we need to remember to remain flexible with those policies and those governance guidelines addressing concerns of data, policy, privacy and security.”