The third annual AI Summit for Educators at Beechwood Independent Schools on Tuesday exposed a widening gap between how industry leaders and students view AI in schools. While tech and business leaders called the technology essential for future careers, recent graduates pushed back - some saying AI should have no place in education at all.
The half-day summit, open to educators in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, drew a similar crowd to past years. But Superintendent Justin Kaiser said the conversation has shifted. He pointed to a group of nearly 100 high school students who drafted the Students First Act, federal AI regulations for public schools - something adult legislators had not done.
"There's an undercurrent of rebellion against the 'all in on AI,'" Kaiser said. "How do we get them to not hate it, because they're going to use it."
Industry leaders: AI is required
A morning panel of eight local industry leaders affirmed that AI is here to stay. Zach Deatherage, an engineer with GE Aerospace, said using AI was unavoidable in his job. "I was told when I first joined the company that basically with AI it was, 'Get on the bus, or you get out the way, like it was required.'"
Laura Wooten, vice president of software company Civica and a Beechwood board member, said AI is deeply integrated at her company. "If one of my employees is not using AI, the question is why."
But panelists also stressed skills AI can't replace. "Empathy is huge in local government," said Covington City Manager Sharmili Reddy. Andrew Cullison, founding executive director of the Cincinnati Ethics Center, said students still need to learn fundamentals the old-fashioned way. "The only way you can spot bad writing is if you know how to write."
Teachers find practical uses
Breakout sessions focused on how educators can put AI to work. Jon Taylor, who leads Dayton Independent Schools' secondary social studies department, showed how he uses Google's Gemini tool to gamify history. He turned the U.S. Constitution into an AI chatbot students can interview, and created an AI personality for John Proctor, one of the first people persecuted during the Salem Witch Trials.
"They think it's the coolest thing ever," Taylor said. "They call it ghost hunting." Taylor also coached the room on building safe chatbots with guardrails for accuracy and safety issues. For educators looking to build these skills, an AI Learning Path for Teachers can provide structured training on classroom tools and prompt design.
In an ethics session, Cullison addressed concerns about AI's water consumption, its potential to produce racist content, and its effect on jobs. He also acknowledged that some students are rejecting AI in favor of traditional methods. His son, a Beechwood student, told him: "We don't have the laptops out. I just get to write with pencil and on paper."
Cullison warned against abandoning AI entirely. "I think to some degree, we do have to participate in systems we find objectionable. If the 'move fast, break things' bros are the only ones participating, then we're going to get the worst version of it."
Students push back
The closing panel featured six Beechwood graduates wrestling with how AI fits into their education. Two said their schools never use or allow the technology; four said it's used regularly on campus, with rules.
Most said they generally avoid it. "Stay authentic, if you cannot use AI on anything," said Gabe Grinsteinner, a 2025 graduate. "I have never learned anything better through using AI."
Louis Schlosser, a 2025 graduate now at Harvard University, was the most direct. "I just think it's terrible, all in all, for all of us. I am very much against AI in school." He added: "I wish that in high school and college there was no AI at any point."
Their teacher and facilitator, Molly Siefert, said the panel showed a mismatch between what Beechwood teaches and what graduates experience. "What we've been doing at Beechwood, it doesn't match up."
Why this matters for educators
The summit made clear that educators are caught between two pressures: employers who expect AI fluency and students who increasingly distrust the technology. Kaiser's question - how to keep students from hating AI when they'll need it in the workplace - remains unanswered. For teachers, the practical path is to test tools like Gemini in controlled settings, build guardrails, and keep listening to students who may prefer paper and pencil.
The debate over AI in schools isn't settling down; it's becoming more visible. Schools looking for guidance can track coverage of AI for Education to see what's working in classrooms like Beechwood's.
Your membership also unlocks:
