News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alpena Public Schools Board of Education members Sarah Costain, Monica Dziesinski, and AJ MacArthur are seen Monday night listening to Matt Poli, director of curriculum for grades six to 12, give an update on using AI in school.

ALPENA — A team of district staff has been working to set the guardrails on how Artificial Intelligence can be used appropriately in the classroom.

At the Alpena Public Schools regular board meeting Monday, APS Director of Curriculum for grades six to 12 Matt Poli spoke to the board about the work he and a team of district staff are doing to create a plan for how AI can be utilized in the district.

Poli said that he presented a draft policy to the board back in the fall. Since then, he has assembled a team to lay out the plans for how AI should be utilized in school.

“Many of you probably use it all the time and you don’t know it,” Poli said. “Well, everyone’s at a different place, that’s kind of like when the internet came on board. For many of us it seems like it was a long time ago, but when those pieces came on board it didn’t just happen overnight, it took time. AI is a very similar thing except it’s actively learning and it’s taking place at a very rapid rate.”

The committee consists of 13 district staff facilitated by Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District Instructional Technology and Data Specialist Ashlie O’Connor.

Members include district staff in a variety of roles including instructional coaches, high school and junior high teachers, a fifth grade teacher, and ACES Academy Director John Studley, to name a few. Director of IT Andrew Reinhardt is also a part of the team.

The team has been working together since May, Poli said. The goals of the team are to provide district AI policy recommendations, provide teachers and staff with AI use expectations, provide students with AI use expectations, provide AI and plagiarism expectations, and guide and support the district in planning and implementing AI initiatives.

Other questions that the team is working through are the ethics of using AI and whether AI is appropriate to use at all grade levels or only some.

Poli explained how AI can become a resource that supports the district’s strategic plan. For example, he could envision a chatbot explaining how to solve a math problem to a student struggling with their homework. That would fit in the academics and programs as well as the whole child development pillars of the strategic plan.

He then presented the AI implementation timeline. The team’s first meeting was May 27, and their second meeting was June 13.

At the June 13 meeting, they brainstormed and assessed how AI can impact instructional framework, measuring student learning and assessment, business and technology operations, and outreach, to name a few categories.

At their next two meetings planned in July, the team intends to develop AI use guardrails for students and staff, as well as assess AI platforms and draft the most effective options.

From August to February 2026, the plan is to launch an AI pilot group that will start using AI in the classroom following the implementation team’s recommendations.

From March to June 2026, the plan is to develop full AI implementation and professional development training and opportunities.

Board member Eric Hansen asked whether the team has considered purchasing an organizational subscription to one AI platform.

“That’s one of the things with the guardrails that we want to be able to do,” Poli responded.

He suggested that they may decide to use two to three platforms if it fits the needs of the district. It is absolutely the plan to have AI platforms used organizationally.

The implementation team will be looking at around 40 different AI platforms and assessing legal compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Board Member Sarah Costain said she supports integrating AI into learning, but mentioned how important guardrails are to prevent harm to kids.

A couple of community members spoke up during public comment about their opposition to AI.

“AI is appropriate for adults, and maybe some management considerations, but if you let children use AI to teach themselves, give it up,” community member Michael Kramer said. “We’re done. And it’s the stupidest thing you could possibly do to our children.”

“It’s great for administrative stuff, but you need to be really, really careful what you give our children,” community member Bruce Heath said.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.