Before the start of the 2025-2026 school year, the Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) district approved the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in classrooms, specifically Gemini on Chromebooks during school hours. Students and staff have expressed excitement and concerns.
“The concern [of students using AI] is that students’ other learning may be lessened. Will students learn to write and think on their own? Critical thinking is necessary even to approach AI responsibly,” said Chemistry teacher Elizabeth Dupont.
As AI tools are implemented and become more common, some teachers are concerned about student’s progress can be tracked.
“I think it’s problematic because if you use AI to help, it can give teachers a false sense of student ability,” said AP Language and Composition teacher Robin Lusk-Stancil.
On the other hand, Art Foundations I & II teacher Binta Smith thinks that AI could be used to improve student-led assignments.
“I think it can enhance writing and help clarify a thought. I would like to have them use it to enhance their artist statements (a piece of writing that helps the audience understand the artist’s work),” said Smith, “I also think they are good at brainstorming to help put ideas and techniques together to then create something of their own.”
Artificial Intelligence use remains a pressing issue in terms of cheating. Teachers have resorted to using AI detection programs to verify work’s authenticity.
“[If AI is] used to cheat, it is very obvious because the writing does not sound like the student,” said Lusk-Stancil.
But AI is used more in English.
“I see students cheating with AI all the time,” said senior Maddie Miller. “I’ve seen students take pictures of questions and ask ChatGPT to answer them for them.”
With the new policies, teachers’ plans for AI vary according to subject. Faculty and staff have been attending training sessions on AI use in the classroom.
“I plan to encourage students to use AI for personalized tutoring,” said Dupont. “When I mentioned in class that a reading assignment was heavy, one student asked me if they could ask AI to adjust the difficulty level. That’s not something I would have specifically thought of using it for. So, it seems that ideas for classroom use will come in time through the sharing of ideas.”
Multiple classes are already using AI with purpose. English classes are asking Gemini for feedback on essays, art classes are experimenting with AI in creation and brainstorming, and dance classes are using it for generating ideas for performances.
“For our senior class synthesis for dance, we use AI to brainstorm ideas for titles for performances, and brainstorm ideas for what we want as a class dance, so we can start building off of it,” said senior Aiyanna Nugent. It’s helpful because it gives us new ideas that we wouldn’t have thought of. It’s a great brainstorming tool.
In a world becoming more dominated with the use of AI, AI usage in schools will continue to evolve, and only time will tell how it impacts student learning.
