WAITE PARK — District 742 is adapting to the application and evolution of artificial intelligence by finding ways to use it to augment learning, not hinder it, an administrator told the school board during a Wednesday, Jan. 7, meeting.
“I want to emphasize that it’s not necessarily about AI, technology, but rather about learning and education in the age of AI,” said Donna Roper, director of AI research, evaluation and integration for the district.
Roper updated the board on how the district is integrating AI into education and staff development guidelines.
According to Roper:
- There is an ongoing initiative to use AI responsibly in classrooms, grounded in learning sciences and cognitive research.
- The district has hosted annual AI summits focused on education, with the goal of creating shared expectations and common language among staff.
- Professional learning days are offered, giving teachers the opportunity to learn from their colleagues, try new AI tools and receive advice on best practices.
- A framework of expectations for responsible use of AI was developed, aligning with the district’s strategic pillars: safety, belonging, collaboration and academic excellence.
- Educators are provided with resources, guidelines, and decision frameworks to help them determine when and how AI supports or harms essential learning.
- Staff collaborate both internally and with statewide/national partners (such as the Minnesota Generative AI Alliance for Education and local higher education institutions) to stay current and share best practices.
The goal for fall 2026 is to have clearer policies in place to better guide staff on how teachers and students can use AI, Roper said.
“The two things we hear (from staff) are, ‘Don’t tell me AI will help me, show me,’ and ‘guidelines on using AI aren’t enough,'” Roper said.
Several board members expressed concerns about how AI could affect critical thinking skills and enable cheating.
“I think in the world that we live in, and we see, in my opinion, a decline in critical thinking in many places, and we don’t know how to evaluate what we read and what we see…how can we ensure that our students are learning that skill?” said board member Heather Weems. “I think sometimes we do something because we can without stopping to think we should do it.”
Board member Natalie Copeland asked how teachers select AI-generated work.
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Jason Harris said staff have adapted and ask students to explain their thought process or how they completed an assignment.
“Students may be able to use AI to write an essay, but that doesn’t mean they know how to write one,” Harris said. “Teachers ask them to show their work: that’s where the learning happens.”
Copeland said she supports allowing students to understand how to think for themselves and learn the curriculum without feeling punished for using AI.
The board received an update on the district’s cybersecurity practices. The cost of a cybersecurity breach would be about $3 million, according to Katie Herrboldt, executive director of education innovation and technology. The district has worked to prevent security issues by increasing password complexity, using multi-factor authentication and training staff to identify phishing. District staff are also developing a three-phase AI deepfakes response plan to hyper-realistic, AI-generated or manipulated video, images or audio.
The council will next meet at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21 at
District Administrative Office, 1201 S. Second St., Waite Park.
