By Kristian Moravec of the Maine Monitor

One platform, MagicSchool, has more than 8,500 educator accounts in Maine. As teachers and students increasingly turn to these tools, some school districts are working to codify guidelines for ethical use.

In Technology Director Mike Arsenault’s office at the Yarmouth School Department, papers and boxes sat on his desk — some of it swag from the tech company MagicSchool, one of several artificial intelligence programs the district is now using.

The AI platform, which was designed for educators, offers tools like a lesson planner, letter of recommendation producer, Individualized Education Plan drafter and even a classroom joke writer. The district pays about $10,000 a year for a MagicSchool enterprise package, and Arsenault said that his favorite element is the “Make it Relevant” tool, which prompts teachers to describe their class and what they’re studying and then generates activities that tie student interests to the subject.

“Because the question that students have asked forever is ‘why are we learning this,” Arsenault said, explaining that students should have clear examples of how lessons are useful outside of the classroom. “That’s something that AI is really good at.”

The district is one of many across Maine that is increasingly using AI in its classrooms. Some, like Yarmouth, have established formal AI guidelines. Others have not. MagicSchool told The Monitor that it has around 8,500 educator accounts active in Maine. This would equate to more than half of the state’s public school teachers, though anyone can sign up for a free educator account.

The state Department of Education does not yet have data on how many teachers or school districts are using AI, but said that based on the level of interest schools have for AI professional development, its use is widespread. The department is conducting a study to better understand how schools are integrating the new technology and hopes to release data next spring, according to a spokesperson.

The use of generative AI — a type of artificial intelligence that generates new text, images or other content, such as the technology used in ChatGPT — is prompting a growing debate in education. Critics see it as a tool that decreases critical thinking and helps students cheat, while advocates see it as a fixture that students must learn how to use ethically.

A majority of teachers across the country are growing familiar with AI for either personal or school use, and suspect that their students are using it widely as well, according to a 2024 study by the Center for Democracy and Technology.

As AI changes come at breakneck speed, leaders are pushing for its controlled use in schools. Roughly half of states have some form of AI guidance in place, according to the Sutherland Institute.

Maine introduced an interactive AI guidance toolkit earlier this year, which walks educators through ways they can integrate AI in the classroom from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade and the questions to consider when doing so. Students in pre-Kindergarten through second grade could “use AI to generate art and have students collboarate [sic] to create a shared image,” according to the guidance, or high school students could “explore cybersecurity principles through ethical hacking simulations.”

The guidance encourages teachers to “keep the human in AI” by stopping to ask if its use is appropriate for the task, monitoring for accuracy and noting how AI was used.

The governor’s office launched a state AI Task Force last year to prepare Maine for the “opportunities and risks likely to result from advances in AI” in private industries, education and government. The task force’s education subgroup has met three times this year, and plans to release a report on AI use in Maine this fall.

For Yarmouth Superintendent Andrew Dolloff, it is important to help students tackle the increasingly popular technology in a safe environment. The district adopted its first set of AI guidelines last year, which emphasize that staff should be transparent and cite any use of generative AI, ensure student data privacy is protected, be cautious of bias and misinformation and understand the technology “as an evolving tool, not an infallible source.”

“AI is here to stay. It’s part of our lives. We’re all using it as adults on a daily basis. Sometimes without even knowing it or realizing that it’s AI,” Dolloff said. “So we changed our stance pretty quickly to understand that rather than trying to ban AI, we needed to find ways to effectively use it, and allow students to use it appropriately to expand their learning.”

Maine School Administrative District 75 — which serves Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham — adopted an AI policy earlier this year, though some school board members were hesitant to approve the policy over concerns that generative AI can help students cheat and produce misinformation, The Harpswell Anchor reported.

Some school districts, such as Regional School Unit 22, which serves Hampden, Newburgh, Winterport and Frankfort, have launched internal committees to guide AI use, while others, such as MSAD 15 in Gray and New Gloucester, are pursuing policies in the wake of controversy.

Earlier this year, a student at MSAD 15 alleged that a teacher graded a paper using AI, WGME reported. Superintendent Chanda Turner told The Maine Monitor that teachers are piloting programs that use AI to give feedback on papers, but are not using it to issue grades. The school board will be working on an AI policy for the district this school year, she said.

Nicole Davis, an AI and emerging technology specialist with the DOE who helped write the state guidelines, estimates that over 40 school districts in Maine have requested professional development for AI, and expects that interest will grow. She noted that guiding AI use can be a challenge, as the technology changes so quickly.

“We’re building the plane as we’re flying it,” Davis said.

‘I was stunned’

Julie York, a computer science teacher at South Portland High School, has long incorporated new technology into her teaching, and has found generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to be “incredibly useful.” She has used it to create voiceovers for presentations when she was tired, to help make rubrics and lesson plans and to build a chatbot that can answer questions during class, which she says helps her balance the amount of time she spends with each student.

“I don’t think there’s any educator who wakes up in the morning, and is like, ‘oh my god, I hope I can make a rubric today.’ I just don’t think you’re going to find any,” she said. “And there’s no teacher who isn’t tired.”

She vets all the AI resources she uses before integrating them into her work, and has discussions with her students about when using AI is appropriate. Student use is guided by the traffic light model: if an assignment is green, students can use AI under the guidance of a teacher, if it’s yellow that means limited use with teacher permission, and red means no AI. She makes these determinations depending on the type of assessment. If she wants them to be able to read code and understand what it does, for instance, then AI cannot be used. But if a student is coding a computer program, she said, then AI can be a useful tool.

AI can also help teachers accommodate diverse needs, York said, explaining that students who have trouble speaking in front of a class could use text-to-voice software to produce voiced-over videos. The district’s students speak several different languages, and she used AI to help her create an app that translates her speech into multiple languages while she’s teaching. It took her about an hour to make.

“I just sat there stunned at my computer. Just stunned,” York recalled.

Maine Education Association President Jesse Hargrove said that teachers are exploring the evolving AI landscape alongside their students, noting that AI can help create steps for science projects, or detect whether students cheated.

“I think it’s being used as a partner in the learning, but not a replacement for the thinking,” he said.

MEA’s approach to AI is guided by the National Education Association’s policy, which emphasizes putting educators at the center of education. However, Hargrove said that MEA does not have a stance on whether or not districts should adopt AI.

“We believe that AI should be enhancing the educational experience rather than replacing educators,” he said.

‘Click. Boom. Done.’

Maine’s AI guidance emphasizes that teachers should have clear expectations for AI use in the classroom. It recommends being specific about grade levels, lesson times, content and general student needs when prompting services like ChatGPT to generate lesson plans.

The state told The Monitor it does not recommend any AI tools in particular. Instead, the DOE said it encourages schools to research tools and consider data security, privacy and use.

But its guidance toolkit references a handful of specific programs. MagicSchool and Diffit are listed as tools that can help with accessibility in the classroom. Almanack, MagicSchool and Canva are noted as tools that can help boost student engagement.

The types of AI tools that educators use vary depending on their needs, Davis said, but there seem to be five tools that can assess papers, create study materials and help build curriculums that schools are turning to the most: Diffit, Brisk, Canva, MagicSchool and School AI.

“That batch of essays that’s looming? Brisk will help you grade them before the bell rings,” Brisk’s website reads. “Need a lesson plan for tomorrow? Click. Boom. Done.”

Use of these platforms is regulated by legal parameters for student data safety, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Maine’s Student Information Privacy Act. Technology companies must sign a data privacy agreement for the states in which they plan to operate. Maine’s data privacy agreement with MagicSchool, for instance, covers nine other states and sets guardrails for student data collection such as leaving ownership and control of data to “local education agencies.”

Some education-based AI companies also have their own parameters in place. MagicSchool, which was founded by former educator Adeel Khan, requires teachers to sign a best practices agreement, reminds them not to enter personal student information into AI prompts like an Individual Education Plan generator, and claims it erases any student information that gets entered into its system.

“We’re always iterating and trying to make things safer as we go,” Khan said, citing MagicSchool’s favorable rating for privacy on Common Sense Media, an organization that rates technology and digital media for children.

The federal government has also pushed for the use of AI in schools. In the spring, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to promote AI in education, and the federal Department of Education has since published a letter encouraging the use of grant funding to “support improved outcomes for learners through responsible integration of artificial intelligence.”

In late August, First Lady Melania Trump launched the Presidential AI Challenge: asking students to “create AI-based innovative solutions to community challenges.”

The White House is also running a pledge campaign, “Investing in AI Education,” asking technology companies to commit resources like funding, education materials, technology, professional development programs and access to technical expertise to K-12 students, teachers and families for the next four years. More than 100 entities have signed on, including MagicSchool.

In Maine, the DOE is working on broader AI professional development for teachers, with plans to launch a pilot course based on the state’s AI guidance toolkit, potentially as soon as this fall.

As Yarmouth starts the new school year, Arsenault said that AI should be integrated with the goal of preparing students for a future that will be filled with AI.

“We can do what many schools do and ignore it, or we can address it,” Arsenault said. “And if we address it with our students, we have the ability to frame the discussion on how it’s used, and have discussions with our students about how we want to see it used in our classrooms.”

The American classroom is standing at a historic crossroads. For decades, the defining debates in education were about funding formulas, standardized tests, and curriculum design. Now, as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries at a pace unseen since the Industrial Revolution, the urgent question is not whether schools should adopt technology—but how they should wield it responsibly to prepare the workforce of tomorrow.That was the core message delivered yesterday by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon during her visit to Austin, Texas, a stop on her Returning Education to the States Tour. Touring Alpha School—a private K–8 institution that has embedded AI into its instructional model—McMahon witnessed firsthand how algorithms can tailor learning to a child’s individual pace and strengths. Later, at the University of Austin, she sat down with President Carlos Carvalho to explore how higher education is cultivating innovation in the age of machine intelligence.“Harnessing AI thoughtfully will be critical to expanding opportunity and preparing students for tomorrow’s workforce,” McMahon said in a press release. “During my visit to Austin, I saw how AI can open doors, but also how curiosity, critical thinking, and open debate that drive learning. As we return education to the states, it’s vitally important that innovation is guided by the fundamentals, so that the classroom remains a true marketplace of ideas.”Her words carry weight at a moment when both the promises and perils of AI in education are becoming more visible. Proponents see AI as a force multiplier, personalizing instruction, automating routine tasks for teachers, and exposing students to digital tools they will inevitably encounter in future careers. Critics, however, warn of algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and the risk of reducing education to data-driven efficiency rather than human inquiry.McMahon’s choice of Austin as a showcase is telling. The city is fast becoming a national hub for tech-driven education reform. Alpha School has built its reputation on leveraging AI platforms that adapt in real time to student performance, freeing teachers to focus on mentorship rather than rote instruction. The University of Austin, still young but already carving out a niche as an innovation-focused institution, is experimenting with ways to integrate ethics and humanities into technical training—reminding students that technological progress must be anchored in human values.Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who joined the Secretary during her visit, underscored the point: “I am grateful to have joined Secretary McMahon at today’s visit and appreciated the thoughtful discussion on the responsible use of innovation in schools. At the Texas Education Agency, we are always searching for transformational best practices that can be shared with Texas public schools to help them best meet the needs of students and help our dedicated educators focus on what they do best – teaching,” as reported in a press release of US.

What students must learn in the AI era

McMahon’s remarks touch on a critical recalibration. The workforce of tomorrow will require a blend of digital fluency and human-centered skills. Experts increasingly argue that AI literacy should sit alongside reading, writing, and mathematics as a foundational competency. Yet knowing how to “use” AI is only the starting point.Students must also cultivate:

The larger pictureBy anchoring AI adoption in “curiosity, critical thinking, and open debate,” McMahon is pushing against a reductive narrative of education as a race to master tools. Instead, she appears to be calling for a model where innovation complements, but does not eclipse, the timeless goals of schooling: fostering independent minds and cultivating democratic discourse.As the Returning Education to the States Tour continues, the message from Austin reverberates well beyond Texas. States, districts, and schools will soon face decisions about how aggressively to integrate AI into classrooms. Those choices will determine not just the contours of learning, but the character of the next generation of workers and citizens.In the end, the challenge is not whether schools can keep pace with technology—it is whether they can ensure that technology serves learning, not the other way around.

Image credit: Adobe Stock/Comeback Images.

As generative AI continues to reshape education, Adobe sees AI not as a replacement for thinking, but as a catalyst — for accelerating ideation, enhancing creativity, and fostering deeper engagement in learning. We’re energized by the White House’s Pledge to America’s Youth to invest in AI education as a critical step in putting essential AI and creative skills in the hands of the next generation of learners and we are proud to contribute to this critical area.

Adobe is providing the approximately 50+ million K-12 students and teachers across the United States with free access to Adobe Express for Education — Adobe’s all-in-one creativity app with generative AI tools designed for the classroom. Adobe is also providing professional development and training for all U.S. educators to help them better equip their students with AI skills.

The world of work is changing fast, and AI skills are no longer a nice-to-have; they’re a must-have. That’s why Adobe is committed to preparing learners of all ages for the AI-driven world we live in now.

Why AI skills matter more than ever

Early access to AI skills is essential to ensure students aren’t left behind in a rapidly evolving workforce. Embedding these skills now builds a more innovative future. The data is compelling: According to Lightcast, AI-skilled roles offer a 28 percent salary premium, with demand growing across industries — including 800 percent growth in generative AI roles in non-tech industries and a 200 percent increase in education-related roles since 2022.

At Adobe, we see firsthand how AI is already revolutionizing the creative process. Adobe Firefly is supercharging creativity and productivity with features such as Generative Fill and Generative Extend. Acrobat Studio is revolutionizing documents for the AI era, turning static files into conversational knowledge hubs, with a personalized AI Assistant for deeper insights. And Adobe Express is bringing AI-charged ideation and creation to everyone. AI can help consumers and business professionals work more efficiently and raise the bar of what they create.

Adobe is committed to empowering learners at every stage

For decades, Adobe has been dedicated to supporting creativity and digital literacy in education. Adobe’s commitments as part of the White House Pledge to America’s Youth are part of our broader mission to empower learners of all ages and in all stages of learning to ideate, create and collaborate with AI.

Through programs like Adobe Creative Campuses, we partner with universities to bring creative education and design thinking into higher-ed curricula. For specialists investing in their careers, the Adobe Certified Professionals program offers formal credentialing and certification in Adobe tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Firefly and more. The Adobe Digital Academy is preparing learners with creative and technical skills and is focused on AI literacy, content creation, and digital marketing. The program aims to reach 30 million next-generation learners and educators by 2030.

Last year, Adobe invested $100 million to expand access through product donations, scholarships, and partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and platforms like Coursera. Learners gain hands-on experience with Adobe Express, Acrobat, and Creative Cloud, developing in-demand skills that help them stand out in an increasingly digital world.

I was honored to take part in the White House Task Force meeting on the AI Education Pledge, which underscored the urgency of equipping every learner with the knowledge and tools to thrive in this new era. And as part of the Pledge to America’s Youth, students and educators interested in participating in the Presidential AI Challenge will also be able to use Adobe’s AI tools, including Adobe Express, in their submission.

Demystifying AI in the classroom

The positive impact of bringing AI into the classrooms is already being felt as Adobe’s AI-powered creative tools make learning more engaging and collaborative. Using Adobe’s AI tools, which are designed with safety and user control at their core, teachers are seeing deeper learning and increased motivation. For example, teachers using Adobe Express to integrate generative AI into hands-on projects found that the curriculum boosted student creativity, prompted ethical discussions about the application of AI, and sparked teamwork and engagement beyond traditional assignments.

Building together

To fully realize the potential of AI in education, we’re committed to working alongside governments and education leaders to empower both teachers and students with AI skills and capabilities and help train an innovative, future-ready workforce that can thrive in the digital age.

Educators can learn more about using free Adobe tools and curriculum resources to unlock creative potential in your classroom.

We urge policymakers to invest in early AI skilling and equitable access for all students. Learn more about the commitments Adobe and others have made to the White House AI Education Pledge and join us in supporting a future where every learner is prepared for the opportunities ahead.

And we urge everyone to share stories of AI in the classroom. Let’s inspire each other and build a brighter future together.