ChatGPT for Minnesota district's teachers: St. Cloud says AI won't grade your kids
St. Cloud schools previews ChatGPT tool
Heading into the school year, St. Cloud schools are the only district in Minnesota to roll out ChatGPT Edu, with 200 teachers and staff signing up within hours to use the tool.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Cloud schools are the only district in Minnesota to roll out ChatGPT Edu, an educational version of OpenAI's artificial intelligence platform.
AI in the classroom: What St. Cloud is doing
What we know:
With school districts across Minnesota dealing with tight budgets and burned-out teachers, St. Cloud Superintendent Laurie Putnam said the offer from OpenAI was hard to pass up.
"It's free, it is safe, you own your own data, and they also provide training tools on how to use it ethically, responsibly, professionally. For us, we did not see a downside in that opportunity," said Putnam.
ChatGPT Edu first launched on college campuses a couple of years ago and is now moving into primary schools in 17 states this year.
In St. Cloud, teachers will mostly use the tool for lesson planning, curriculum alignment and administrative work.
One practical example Putnam shared: a teacher covering invasive species could use the AI to generate reading materials tailored to each student's comprehension level.
"It could give you a text that was appropriate for invasive species, and it could give me a different one that is more matched to my reading level," said Putnam.
What they're saying:
While the technology opens doors, the district has drawn a clear line on what AI should not do.
"It should not be grading. That is one thing that we've asked of our staff is that there are some tasks that belong to humans," said Putnam.
Putnam also made clear the tool is meant to support — not replace — the people who make schools run.
"I believe that it is here to help make our educators' lives a little simpler at times. But it will never replace a teacher, it'll never replace a school nurse, a counselor, a principal," said Putnam.
How it works and what's at stake
Dig deeper:
The rollout is optional, but about 200 teachers and staff — roughly 20% of the district — signed up within a couple of hours of it going live last week.
Every staff member using the tool goes through a training program called "PAUSE IT," designed to protect student privacy and ensure the AI produces accurate, unbiased results, and every step requires human oversight.
What we don't know:
OpenAI is not allowed to share the district's data or use it to train future AI models.
However, St. Cloud teachers and administrators will provide feedback that could help fine-tune a future version of ChatGPT Edu — one that may not be free.
The Source: FOX 9's Corin Hoggard reports from St. Cloud.