Documents › Board of Education, 2026-09-03

report 21 pages Scanned/OCR — text may contain errors

Ad hoc technology committee report presented for September 3, summarizing two summer listening sessions and a survey with 182 respondents. It describes participant concerns and priorities around student well-being, screen time, instruction, AI and data privacy, plus suggestions for a future advisory committee. Respondent roles overlap, and the survey describes those who participated rather than measuring every district family's views.

Also attached to this agenda item: Board Reports

Ad Hoc Committee on Techno Report on Efforts July – August 2026 Background Approach: • Two listening sessions July 31 & Aug 3 • Community survey, available July – Aug 17 • Asked to rank 5 priorities • 4 open qualitative questions Committee charge: RESOLVED: That the Board of Education hereby establishes an ad-hoc committee to determine the scope and charge, through engagement with the community, of a community advisory committee on technology. This committee will consist of three members of the Board, to be appointed by the Board President. The committee will report its recommendations to the Board of Education no later than September 3, 2026. Key dates: • May 7 committee proposed • June 11 committee approved • July 16 board members assigned • Committee meetings: July 22, Aug 17, 23 & 24 Community Listening Sessions BOE Ad Hoc Committee on Technology Results & Insights L I S T E N I N G S E S S I O N S Two sessions: July 31 and Aug 3 Participants could drop-in and leave during the open-ended conversations. Most people stayed the entire two hours. Who attended? • 12 participants (7 & 5 respectively) • Parents (pre-K, all 3 schools & alumni), grandparent, recent CHHS alumni • Professions: HS teachers, college professor, engineer, college students • Users of AI Themes Desire greater transparency and awareness of what is happening and why. Technology needs to earn its place in the learning environment: Widespread support of K-2 limits put forth by NYSUT. Noted differences among technology education vs educating through technology vs using technology as a tool for creating. Need for expanded education and understanding about technology, learning, and data privacy so everyone can make informed and intentional choices. Concerns about class sizes and providing teachers with the tools and resources they need. BOE Ad Hoc Committee on Technology Results & InsightsCommunity Survey on W H O R E S P O N D E D Response volume indicates that this is an important topic in our community. Respondents could select more than one role, so counts overlap slightly. The community that showed up is overwhelmingly parents and guardians of current students. 155 of 182 respondents are parents or guardians Other voices in the mix Classroom Teacher 14 Community Member 7 Student 5 Support Staff 4 155 14 7 5 4 Parent / Guardian Classroom Teacher Community Member Student Support Staff Respondents by role W H O R E S P O N D E D Which schools are represented Among parents, children span every band — but elementary families are the clear center of gravity. (Parents of children in multiple bands are counted in each.) 16 mentions Pre-K 100 mentions Elementary (K-4) 57 mentions Middle (5-8) 47 mentions High school (9-12) 158 of 182 respondents answered the grade-level question. P R I O R I T I E S What the community ranked highest Each respondent ranked the five areas from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Averaging those ranks, student well-being and screen time rise clearly above the rest. 3.69 3.48 2.75 2.61 2.57 Student well-being Screen time Data Privacy Instructional Software Artificial Intelligence HIGHEST Student well-being avg rank 3.69 · 34% ranked it #1 LOWEST Artificial Intelligence avg rank 2.57 · 30% ranked it last Qualitative Findings 173 out of 182 respondents provided at least one qualitative response. Priority context: 131 Tech benefits: 122 Primary concerns: 161 Anything else: 115. Concerns drew the most engagement. respondents specifically requested screens/1x1 devices be removed from lower elementary Even respondents who want to avoid an overcorrection mentioned concerns about the impacts of technology.A clear message: Con 40 respondents specifically requested less screen time across the board 51 This is a total of 91 individual respondents who want less screen time in our schools. Concerns about Tech’s Impact on our Students Respondents described concerns about their children’s development related to attention, critical thinking, mental health, executive functioning, etc. 64 54 48 Respondents spoke about pedagogical concerns. They questioned whether many skills are actually better taught with paper-based methods, felt that tech was often used to have students do busy work, worried that teachers have less deep understanding of students abilities and challenges due to digital assessments, etc. Respondents specifically referenced concerns about AI use by either students or teachers. They referenced fears about AI undermining student’s abilities to develop critical thinking and writing skills, as well as increasing cheating and short cuts for both students and staff, leading to more shallow education. Concerns about student’s privacy and safety Respondents made references to concerns about data privacy. While this may not have been as highly discussed as other concerns, those who did reference it often felt it was a very grave concern and that there was a need for greater guard rails around student/family data and use. 16 4 Respondents specifically mentioned that they did not think a community advisory committee would be the right place to form Data Privacy policy – citing the need to consult experts due to the ethical, legal, and technological considerations involved. Teachers and Parents are both concerned about tech Parents: • Feel undermined when they’ve kept their children away from tech and the children are given so much access to screens by the school. • Concerned that technology is not the best path to develop children’s socio-emotional well- being, retention, and foundational skills • Value in terms of learning about technology, not learning through technology “A primary concern is that students are arriving heavily exposed to different types of technology and with an impression of technology that reflects that they are not really thoughtful users. They are also exceptionally distracted users, often using technology to engage in other tasks while they are supposed to be working.”We have an opportunity to bring these two groups tog Teachers: • Struggle to keep students on task who are exhausted from staying up late playing video games or are constantly distracted by games and social media websites. • Worry that AI is robbing students of opportunities to think for themselves • Value in terms of differentiation and tracking student progress 16 respondents specifically referenced how technology is here to stay and will be an important part of our kids futures, but there was disagreement about what that meant: • Some believe this means we need strong technology education • Some state that it means we should remove technology from the classroom in the younger grants because children are exposed to technology in other facets of their livesRecognition 34 respondents asked for education on media literacy, physical/mental health & safety implications of being online, coding, virogous online research, programming, robotics, etc. 14 respondents specifically asking for typing courses.Respond “I understand that screen time, well-being, AI, and data privacy are all part of this conversation, but for me the central issue is whether the instructional approach itself, with or without screens, is the strongest one available for my child’s learning. Technology should be adopted only where it demonstrably improves on that goal, not simply because it is available or convenient.” Annex Annex Common Questions raised during the listening sessi What’s happening? What technologies are being used, how are they being used, and why? What technology use is developmentally appropriate for students? Do students know how technology works? When does technology really promote learning? Does demonstrated mastery within a digital platform translate into deeper learning and the ability to apply skills in other contexts? What are the tradeoffs with using technology? What important skills and experiences—such as executive functioning, problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and non-digital skills—might be diminished? What about data privacy implications? How are we protecting student data? How are we preparing students, families, teachers, and staff to make safe, informed decisions about privacy, technology, and cybersecurity? P R I O R I T I E S F R O M T H E S U R V E Y Consensus and variance Share of respondents placing each area at the very top (#1 priority) versus the very bottom. Screen time and well-being command the top; AI and instructional software are most often placed lower. 35% 34% 12% 11% 10% 12% 7% 18% 30% 29% Screen time Student well-being Data Privacy Artificial Intelligence Instructional Software Ranked LOWEST (1) Ranked HIGHEST (5) P R I O R I T I E S F R O M T H E S U R V E Y Where parents and teachers diverge The two largest respondent groups agree that student well-being matters most — but split sharply on screen time and AI. Teachers rank AI far higher; parents rank screen time far higher. 3.65 3.59 2.64 2.76 2.45 4.08 2.71 2.36 2.50 3.77 Student well-being Screen time Instructional Software Data Privacy Artificial Intelligence Classroom Teachers (n=14) Parents / Guardians (n=155) Screen time gap 3.59 vs 2.71 Parents rank screen time a full point higher than teachers do. AI gap 2.45 vs 3.77 Teachers place AI near the top; parents near the bottom. Input on Committee Structure Several respondents offered to be part of the committee; others gave inputs on what topics should be discussed and how. 7 Respondents advocated for teachers to be part of the committee and many more advocated for supporting our teachers. Multiple requests for the committee to look at how other successful schools are engaging with technology, review research on the topic, and propose recommendation. Calls to explore not only professional development for teachers on these topics but also community workshops for kids and their parents so that the challenges and opportunities are being addressed both at school and in the home.