Technology & Libraries

Head of School, Angela Taylor, recently wrote about the school’s philosophy around AI usage in Park Day Post (the Park Day weekly newsletter):

“As the head of a TK-8th grade school, I take the responsibility of teaching kids during the incredibly important developmental period of 4-14 years old very seriously. It is our job to make sure that we are intentionally building their cognitive infrastructure and a strong foundation of critical thinking that will serve them throughout their entire lives. As high schools and colleges/universities grapple with how to navigate the ubiquity of AI, I worry about what this might ultimately mean for our youngest learners. With all of the news out there that we are in a ‘post-literate’ world right now, I can’t help but wonder if, as a nation, we are getting dumber and dumber.”

Critical thinking skills include the ability to reason, question, make connections, solve problems, and think independently. Those skills are hard-won, brick by brick, skill by skill, and struggle by struggle. There is great value in doing the challenging and messy work of learning for yourself. I have asserted on many occasions that progressive education is about developing tenacity, perseverance, and the ability to dig in when things are hard. We don’t want to rob our students of the chance to do the very thinking they are here to develop.

This is why we’ve made the decision with the faculty not to allow students to use generative AI and have blocked all AI platforms on student devices. We are absolutely not rejecting technology, we are intentionally protecting the time and space children need to develop their own thinking.”

AI can produce an answer remarkably quickly. Our job is to make sure students are developing the knowledge and habits of mind to understand, question, and evaluate that answer. This approach is consistent with a larger commitment to using technology to enhance rather than replace the human experiences that build critical thinking, creativity, empathy, resilience, and connection.

This also reflects Park Day’s longstanding progressive framework. We want students to learn how to learn: to ask good questions, consider multiple perspectives, exercise judgment, and keep going when the answer isn’t obvious.

Students check their personal devices in to a lockbox at the start of school. This includes phones, apple watches, and any other communication or gaming device. At the end of the school day, students reclaim their belongings before heading home. Occasionally students may receive permission from a teacher to use their personal device to take a photo for a class, or for some other school based purpose. After the project/purpose is completed, devices are returned to the lockbox.

At Park Day, technology is a tool, and we use it purposefully when it can further student learning. Especially in the younger grades, screen use is limited. Students might use an iPad during a math or literacy center, typically no more than twice a week and for no more than about 15 minutes at a time. The vast majority of learning unfolds through conversation, books, writing, play, projects, and experiences with other people.

Technology is introduced gradually as students grow. Students may begin using tools such as Google Slides for presentations as early as 2nd grade. Chromebooks are introduced at school in 3rd grade for purposes such as typing final drafts and learning basic coding through Scratch. Typing homework begins in 3rd grade.

Just as important as learning how to use technology is learning how to use it thoughtfully. Online research is paired with instruction in identifying and evaluating sources, understanding primary and secondary sources, and assessing credibility. Park Day also partners with organizations including Common Sense Education to teach digital citizenship, cyber safety, and media literacy.

Ultimately, the question around technology at Park Day is about what tool best serves the learning. Sometimes that’s a Chromebook. Often, it’s a pencil, a book, a conversation, a set of materials, or another person.

At Park Day, we believe a school has a responsibility to help students build their own cognitive infrastructure first and foremost. Middle school is an important time for students to develop the capacity to read closely, write, research, reason, wrestle with difficult questions, evaluate evidence, create, and form their own judgments. AI can produce an answer remarkably quickly. Our job is to make sure students are developing the knowledge and habits of mind to understand, question, and evaluate that answer.

For that reason, generative AI systems are currently turned off on Park Day student devices. This approach is consistent with a larger commitment to using technology to enhance rather than replace the human experiences that build critical thinking, creativity, empathy, resilience, and connection. It also reflects Park Day’s longstanding progressive approach. We want students to learn how to learn: to ask good questions, consider multiple perspectives, exercise judgment, and keep going when the answer isn’t obvious.

That doesn’t mean school is low-tech. Technology is a tool, and we use it purposefully when it furthers learning. Students use Chromebooks regularly for writing, research, presentations, design, and collaborative work. In the upper grades, students use Google tools to produce much of their final written work. Starting in 5th grade, the Blackbaud online system is used to manage assignments and academic progress. Students also encounter coding, circuitry, and digital fabrication through their STEM classes.

Learning to navigate a digital world is part of the curriculum. Online research is paired with instruction about primary and secondary sources, credibility, citation, and evaluating credible information. Park Day also teaches digital citizenship, cyber safety, and media literacy.

We expect our approach will evolve as the technology does. We don’t have all of the answers, but we are all aligned and committed to our progressive mission that ensures that the deeply human work of learning remains at the center of all we do.