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AI at Country Day

Group picture of the CCDS InvenTeam standing in front of their bike safety invention

Country Day’s 2023-24 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam with their invention, IllumiLane, that projects a portable bicycle lane onto the road to demarcate the safe passing distance for vehicles and uses AI to detect and alert the cyclist when motor vehicles are approaching.

AI POSITION STATEMENT


At Cincinnati Country Day School, we approach artificial intelligence with both curiosity and discipline; we are eager to use it, but only where it strengthens learning. Guided by our academic tradition and cognitive science, we teach students to exercise judgment and discernment so that they can embrace AI when it deepens understanding and set it aside when it replaces the essential work of thinking and learning.


GUIDING PRINCIPLES

  • Cultivate a dynamic learning environment where AI-literate faculty explore and apply effective teaching strategies.
  • Empower students to become confident, ethical, effective users of AI.
  • Challenge faculty and students to use AI to explore real-world problems and promote positive change.
  • Ensure access to leading AI systems and tools that are familiar, reliable, and secure.

 

Students in front of computers with a teacher

 

AI Ambassadors & Committee

In 2025, the school formed an AI committee, composed of faculty across departments and co-chaired by our director of technology and our director of makerspace and innovation design. We also have four AI student ambassadors who provide input to this committee, as we strongly believe it is important for students to have an authentic voice in this discussion. This committee – with involvement of the AI student ambassadors – has audited any existing AI language, policies, and procedures, planned and executed professional development for our faculty focused on AI, examined emerging best practices, and listened carefully to student and teacher experiences.

Students in a science classroom

 

Our AI Agent

In 2025, the school developed an AI agent – a learning science coach – in Copilot 365, with the purpose of helping students retain and master knowledge. The agent is trained and grounded in learning science, and can “see” OneNote, enabling students to use it to help them with skill and knowledge mastery instead of simply giving them the correct response, as a chat with Copilot or ChatGPT might do. We may be the only school in the city – if not the region – that has created a multi-modal Socratic tutor such as this. 

Student at desk

 

AI Policy

One of the results of the committee's work is the creation of an AI academic assignment usage policy so we have common language and expectations around AI usage in the classroom. The policy organizes AI usage into clearly defined “levels” that teachers will specify for each assignment. Our goal is to integrate AI exploration and appropriate use into the classroom – as opposed to isolating that learning to an AI literacy course – so students gain this knowledge and apply it directly in their classes.