PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — As students prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic.
There are concerns surrounding AI with academic integrity, authentic learning, copyright and intellectual property. David Griffith, the National Association of Elementary School Principals director of policy and advocacy, reminds educators of both the opportunities and concerns.
“I don’t think educators should be rushing into this. We are at the very nascent stages of this new technology. There are a lot of interesting opportunities in literacy, tutoring, and individual instruction,” he said. “But I do want to point out or to remind educators that there’s a lot we don’t know about these tools.”
Griffith said some school principals and central office employees use the technology for limited tasks.
“Things like streamlining communications with something as mundane as letter writing or messages out to the community to help polish them to make sure that they’re getting all the points. Mapping bus routes, figuring out class assignments, and class scheduling. Those things are already being seen as benefits. Then I think the next step is in terms of the usage for school leaders and educators, in terms of supporting students.”
As technology evolves, Griffith advises exercising caution.
“Be very careful in terms of student data privacy, personal information with student names, using these platforms, and also what content is generated by students and teachers,” said Griffith.
To align with school guidelines, parents should also keep a watchful eye on students when using search engines.
“When you put a Google search in now, you don’t get the list of links that you look through them with a discerning eye, and you check a couple out and determine what the best answer is. Now an answer pops up for you, and then boom, that’s the end of this search. That’s the end of your thinking about it. We do not want that for students,” said Griffith.
To learn more about the National Association of Elementary School Principals, visit their website here.