Maryville City Schools Embraces AI Technology
MARYVILLE, Tenn. — While discussions about the uses and potential dangers of artificial intelligence continue nationwide, Maryville City Schools has decided to embrace the technology. Following a new law signed by Governor Bill Lee last year that requires schools to establish an AI usage policy, Maryville City Schools is giving teachers the option to integrate it into their classrooms.
This initiative is not entirely new for some educators. Joel Smith, an engineering and Career Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Maryville High School, was already incorporating AI into his curriculum. “When ChatGPT came out, I just immediately saw this opportunity to help students,” Smith said. “We then started coaching around ‘What were good ways to use AI?'”
For the school district, Instructional Technology Coordinator Kevin Myers recognized the potential benefits of AI for both students and teachers. “There’s research out there that shows that teachers only spend about 50% of their time actually working with students, which means half of their time is spent doing other jobs that have nothing to do with student contact,” Myers explained. After research, the district discovered Magic School AI, a program designed specifically for education that prioritizes data confidentiality.
“Teachers have the ability to decide what tools within the program they want to use,” Myers said. “The categories that we’re using mostly right now are rubric creators. They can be designed or be targeted towards specific curriculum from our state standards.”
The Director of Schools, Mike Winstead, requested district-wide funding from the Maryville City Schools Foundation, which approved $27,000 for Magic School AI. Mandi Wolfe, the executive director of the Maryville City Schools Foundation, emphasized the importance of the program: “Maryville is known for academics and excellence. I believe that by bringing on Magic School AI it’s going to continue to um keep Maryville in the front with their standards.”
Teachers like Smith believe that adapting to AI is essential for students’ future success. “We have this new tool that’s being used all over the world, so our students need to have exposure to it,” Smith said. “If they don’t, then they’re at a deficit for anybody else who can use it.”
