AI Literacy Month

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already a quiet part of our daily lives, shaping everything from Siri’s answers to the recommendations we see on Netflix. As this technology continues to evolve, our goal at Piedmont Unified is to ensure that our students are grounded in the critical thinking, ethics, and self-regulation necessary to be AI-ready.

On March 27th, we will join schools across the country for National AI Literacy Day. This is a nationwide day of action focused on two vital questions: “What is AI?” and “How do we prepare our students to thrive in an AI-enabled world?”

Our Partnership with You: Navigating new technology can feel overwhelming, especially one with such exponential growth! Starting today, we will be sending weekly "AI at Home" emails designed to spark curiosity and conversation at your dinner table. We hope they support you and your child in navigating AI safely, ethically, and effectively.

Along with the video, we’ve included a family toolkit from CommonsenseMedia with conversation cards and activity guides designed to make learning about AI fun, engaging, and age-appropriate. These materials encourage critical thinking and help children reflect on how AI influences their digital world.

We invite you to:

• Watch the video together as a family

• Use the conversation cards to spark thoughtful discussions

Piedmont has partnered with InspiritAI to host an in-person project-based artificial intelligence program in June on the PHS campus. The program will run June 8-18 (9 weekday sessions ) for 3.5 hours each day, providing in-depth learning on concepts of machine learning, programming in python, ethics and bias within AI. Participants will complete a group project applying AI to a discipline like healthcare, astronomy, finance, among others. We are excited to present the program to our community. Since no prior computer science experience is required to participate, any student who is interested in biology, business, social justice etc has an opportunity to go deeper into how AI can impact their interest. This program's 31+ hours is roughly equivalent to a 9 weeks of a class at PHS! Separate middle and high school sections will be offered.

If you are interested in participating in this unique opportunity, please fill out this short interest form. The program is offered at a fee of $1600 for 31.5 hours of hands-on learning with AI practitioners and graduate students from Stanford and MIT. Feel free to peruse the program brochure for more information about curriculum, schedule, projects, teaching team, and more!

Did you know that parental controls are available for school chromebooks at home? GoGuardian, our content filtering product, has a parent app with features such as the ability to:

• Block websites on school-issued devices while out-of-school
• Pause internet access on school-issued devices out-of-school, either on-demand or at a scheduled time
• Review the last 30-days of your student's online activity

To access the app, please follow the below instructions:

• Download the app

via Apple Store

via Google Play Store

• After the app is successfully downloaded and installed, open it up and enter the email address you have provided to the school (the address bulletins etc get sent to).
• Login/Check Email: Check your email on your phone for a link to log in to the app. Tap the "Verify your email", and it will take you straight to the app. Note: If you don't have access to your email through the device you used to log in, tap on "Login with verification code", and copy and paste the verification code from the email into the app.

If you need any help with the GoGuardian parent app, you can reach us at help@piedmont.k12.ca.us.

More information about the service can be found here: GoGuardian Parent for Guardians.

Step by step instructions for setting up access can be found here: Getting Started with GoGuardian Parent.

The district is looking for feedback on a draft instructional technology plan. The plan aims to develop AI-readiness, including critical thinking about AI, and its ethical and safe use. The plan also outlines an objective to have technology use be purposeful and strategic, supporting our students' learning. Major activities to be undertaken in the next years include:

• a comprehensive audit of technology use, including discussions with the community about appropriate supports at home and school.
• a centralized vetting process for edtech tools and programs, to keep use aligned with priorities and safeguard student data
• the development of AI-readiness scope and sequence, including critical-thinking frameworks, fundamental concepts, and ethics.
• data dashboards and warehousing systems to provide schools and leadership with more actionable information