While some teachers are doing their best to prevent their students from using Artificial Intelligence (AI) on assignments, some are using it themselves.
“I think students can see through it and know when something is AI-generated,” English teacher Ben Pabst said. “And then it feels hypocritical from a student’s perspective.”
According to a report published by the Center for Democracy and Technology on Oct. 8, 2025, 85% of teachers used AI in the 24-25 school year. The report shows how teachers use AI: 69% creating curriculum and content development, 50% student engagement, 48% professional development and 45% grading tools.
Based on a poll by Northwest Passage, 54.2% of teachers at Northwest use AI, while 45.8% do not.
There is a divide between teachers who do and do not use AI; some who believe it’s a new, helpful tool, and others who think it’s unethical.
Magic School is a popular AI website for teachers that promotes decreasing burnout, comprehensive tools and personalized learning. History teacher Stacy Delay uses it to create guided notes sheets and other tools.
“I’m making my own notes and I put them into Magic School and I was like ‘okay, here’s my notes, make a guided packet for students to use,’” Delay said.
Educators, like Delay, use AI to cut the time it takes to create repetitive worksheets and note packets.
“If you can be more efficient, then I’m like ‘get after it,’” Delay said. “I wish I could figure out how to make it do certain things that would shave off time.”
Some of the teachers at Northwest are using AI in their classrooms as a time saver by using it to make worksheets, like English teacher Eric Williams. Williams uses generative AI on grammar worksheets.
“I can write all those practice sentences, but it takes a lot more time to come up with authentic original sentences every single time,” Williams said. “I’ve never gone as far as just to use it for generating large-scale assignments, or student feedback or parent emails. I think that’s impersonal.”
Trailridge English teacher Angela Metcalf has used AI in her teaching by having students turn their writing into SAVVAS, an AI grading tool that gives the students feedback. Metcalf has also used Magic School to create emails to send to her students’ parents.
One of the primary reasons that AI use in teaching has grown can be traced back to the defunding of schools and the increased workloads placed on teachers that result from this.
“Everyone knows that we are in a period of defunding,” librarian Meghan Stigge said. “Classes are growing, and teachers are getting asked to do more with less. So I think it’s an easy thing for a teacher who’s overwhelmed because of the structure of the work environment that they’re in, to turn to things like to make things a little more balanced.”
While there isn’t a defined policy on AI, the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) has started to approach AI in a positive light.
“With any new technology, there are always concerns, but AI is the future, and it’s important to teach students so they are prepared for the future,” said instructional technology coordinator Jenny Collier in a July 2023 issue of the SMSD magazine.
Educators are being encouraged to utilize AI technology as a resource to improve students’ learning, which will help prepare students for their future and jobs of tomorrow.
“We’ll be adjusting to using AI to do a variety of different things, and so I do think that there are some definite uses for AI,” Associate Principal Britton Haney said. “I do use it to review the tone of my emails when I’m dealing with someone who’s upset to make sure I’m not firing back a doozy.”
Many teachers are against AI being used in classrooms, though. The main reason is that the use of critical thinking generated AI is taking away from students.
“Our district is going about this wrong,” Pabst said. “Our district is pushing it and encouraging teachers and students to use it.”
Educators who are against generative AI are generally concerned about the impact on students’ learning, rather than the potential for cheating.
“I believe that most dialogue about AI in the classroom has to do with cheating,” Pabst said. “But I think there’s a bigger, more pressing issue above cheating, and that is just crippling our ability to think.”
Teachers are pursuing the education of developing minds, while handing them a device that is statistically taking away from their knowledge.
“It’s almost malpractice,” Pabst said. “As educators, we are in charge of the development of kids’ brains, K-12, how can we possibly give them that crutch and not develop that brain?”
Massachusetts Institute of Learning (MIT) did a study in June 2025, showing a 55% reduction in brain connectivity when using AI.
