Florence 1 Board Invests Half Million Dollars To Lead State in AI Implementation

Artificial Intelligence is changing the educational landscape, shifting how students and teachers think about learning. Preparing students for a competitive world post graduation, Florence 1 Schools is introducing AI in the classroom to ensure students learn responsible use of the technology and remain competitive with their peers nationwide and equipping our teachers with the latest AI technology.

Nearly half a million dollars worth of AI products will soon be in use in Florence 1 after an Acceptable Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence policy and several AI platforms were approved at the March Board of Trustees meeting. 

Florence 1 was the first district in the state to introduce an artificial intelligence policy, with administrators initially presenting it during the October 2024 board meeting. The following month the Spark AI Cohort, a diverse group of district and school staff, was started to develop a framework for supporting the use of AI by educators and students. Some of the cohort’s goals have been to determine:

• How Florence 1 can use AI in curriculum K-12
• How teachers can harness the power of AI in the classroom to personalize learning
• What platforms F1S will adopt  

“A lot of districts talk about AI but Florence 1 Schools continues to be a leader in AI,” said Superintendent Richard O’Malley. “This substantial investment clearly indicates our commitment to AI as a teaching and learning tool.”

Three of the platforms the cohort has recommended for use widely across the district are Google’s Gemini, Khan Academy and Magic School.

Florence 1 Deputy Superintendent Kyle Jones said that each of the platforms the district approved serves the purpose of enhancing student learning, not replacing the quality instruction district educators are providing in the classroom.

“Over many years we have talked about personalized learning,” Jones said. “AI is going to actually be able to tailor learning for our students. It can serve as the best tutor a student has ever had while also serving as an assistant for our teachers, alleviating some of the paperwork they do daily.”  

South Florence Testing Coordinator Amy Knight said that one of the benefits of having the cohort evaluating the platforms is all of the roles and departments that are represented.

“Classroom teachers are there with students every day,” Knight said. “One of the cohort members is a STEM lab teacher so she is able to tell us, yes, this is working with our students or no, this isn’t working for our students. Media specialists are great at understanding works cited so they were able to provide insight in that part of the conversation. We have a foreign language teacher who can look at translations and tell us if they are accurate. The cohort is a very well rounded mix of people and it has led to a lot of great conversations.”

Khan Academy’s Khanmigo, which will be used for 6-12th grade, can function as a tutor, not offering students an answer for the problem they are having difficulty with but rather a step-by-step explanation of how to solve the problem. It can also analyze student data and create individualized assessments based on each student’s need. 

Magic School will be used with elementary students and offers over 80 AI tools within the platform, helping teachers to differentiate lessons and assessments based on student performance, generate discussion topics, and simplify lesson planning while still following state standards. Through Magic School students will also develop AI literacy and responsible digital habits, which will help them as they prepare for middle school and high school.

Gemini is part of the Google Suite which means that it integrates seamlessly with the Google products Florence 1 students are already using such as Google Sheets, Google Docs and Google Classroom. 

At Delmae Elementary School and John W. Moore Middle School another AI product will be used by Language Immersion students. Audio Enhancement systems will allow teachers to speak into a microphone and AI will translate in real-time for students through an earpiece for individual learners or for the classroom as whole.

Bryan Dubose, school counselor at Advantage Academy and a member of the Spark AI cohort, said that while there is room for growth when it comes to AI, he thinks there will be a paradigm shift in education with the introduction of it.

“AI can broaden learning past where we have been,” Dubose said. “We are going to have to think outside of the box and maybe tweak some of the assignments that we have always given to students. The objective is for students to learn, and we have to be able to measure their learning, but you can measure learning in multiple different ways.” 

Dubose said that he uses AI every day with the checklist of tasks he has to ensure that students are on track with their classes and graduation, automatically generating emails to teachers when he needs to meet with a student with just a few clicks of his mouse. Dubose is also working on an AI chatbot that can help students explore course and program options at Advantage Academy.

“There are some areas where we waste our time,” Dubose said. “By using AI, I am doing my job more efficiently which gives me more time to do what AI can’t: meet with students.”

More information about AI standards in Florence 1 can be found at f1s.org/AI.