Educators make room for AI in the classroom

Ian Strever (left), listened as Richard Davis spoke at the Salisbury Forum’s discussion of artifical intelligence Friday, Sept. 27.
Patrick L. Sullivan
Ian Strever (left), listened as Richard Davis spoke at the Salisbury Forum’s discussion of artifical intelligence Friday, Sept. 27.
SALISBURY — Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and educators are gingerly adapting.
That was the message from the Salisbury Forum’s panel at Salisbury School Friday, Sept. 27.
The panel included Ian Strever, Principal of Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS); Richard Davis, Dean of Academic Life at The Hotchkiss School; Sarah Mulrooney, Dean of Academic Life at Salisbury School; and Matt Mervis, Director of AI Strategy at EdAdvance.
Jonathan Costa, Executive Director at EdAdvance, moderated.
“AI is suddenly everywhere,” Costa began. “ChatGPT is the tip of the iceberg.”
Cotsa described generative AI as “giant synthesizing machines” that “crawl” through enormous amounts of data.
“It takes your prompt and is really good at predicting what you want to see.”
Costa said the advent of AI is “the final curtain for rote learning.” AI will reduce the time it takes to complete a task, combined with a “higher order of engagement.”
And AI works at incredible speeds.
“My fear is that schools won’t change fast enough.”
“The implications are endless,” Costa said, with “great benefits” and “dark corners.”
He asked the panelists how AI is being used in their schools. Salisbury School’s Mulrooney said she first heard “rumblings” about ChatGPT in November of 2022, and the immediate concern was cheating or plagiarism.
“We spent some time on prevention,” she said, and then moved into finding more about AI and how it was being used elsewhere.
For the 2023-24 school year, the attitude was one of “curiosity and discernment.”
In the current school year, Mulrooney asked teachers for their opinions and was immediately met with resistance. “‘ I don’t touch it, and I dont let my students touch it’ were the first responses.”
Davis, from The Hotchkiss School, said he started hearing about AI during the winter holiday break in 2022.
Hotchkiss has not banned AI. Davis said the emphasis has been one of exploration.
He noted one immediate consequence of the rise of AI.
“Evidence of learning changed overnight for the written word.”
“We’re trying to get people to use it to see what it can do,” he continued. “We’re still in that place.”
“It’s pretty exciting — and terrifying.”
Strever, from HVRHS, said, “I’m pretty sure it gave at least one English teacher a coronary” when the AI issue surfaced. “We have it as a brainstorming tool, an idea generator.”
The current attitude is that AI “is not the best thing, not the worst thing. We’re somewhere in the middle.”
Costa noted that New York City public schools tried a ban on the use of AI (since modified) and asked the educators if their schools have considered going that route.
Mulrooney said Salisbury School won’t ban AI, but will police it. “The onus is more on teachers on what the boundaries are.”
Davis said AI can be used by students to “bypass or enhance.”
“So it’s about clarity,” with teachers setting clear rules on AI use.
Strever agreed, and said that AI cannot replace passion.
“When a student is passionate about a topic, they will write reams about it.”
Costa said that many technologies act as “intensifiers,” and that AI will make good teachers better while alarming lazy teachers.
Mervis used the example of a regular newsletter put out by a teacher. Much of the work that goes into the newsletter is repetitive and time-consuming. A teacher using AI could get the tedious work done in a fraction of the time, and use that saved time “to do something useful.”
Jonathan Costa (at left) moderated a Salisbury Forum panel on artifical intelligence Friday, Sept. 27. The panelists were (from left) Ian Strever, Richard Davis, Matt Mervis and Sarah Mulrooney.Patrick L. Sullivan
Costa asked how AI can be used in instruction. Mulrooney gave an example. In a unit involving debate, the class could let AI have the actual debate, and then, using their own critical thinking skills, “analyze the arguments and discourse.”
Davis, who teaches ancient Greek, said he typically spends a lot of time coming up with sentences and paragraphs for his students to work on after they’ve exhausted the material in the textbook.
An initial attempt at using ChatGPT to come up with samples wasn’t successful, but a subsequent try with another program “worked pretty well.”
“It was the first time AI was a time-saver.”
Strever said he was interested to see how HVRHS photography students caught on to AI’s possibilities and began using it in production.
Costa asked the panel about their hopes and fears for AI.
“Neuralink,” said Strever, referring to Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company. “The possibility this ends up embedded in your head is terrifying.”
Davis said AI’s potential for personalized learning is “super-exciting.”
On the downside, he said he worries about “the human element,” particularly gullibility and a propensity to take short cuts.
Mulrooney said she is worried about the pace of change, but she is seeing the utility of AI in real-life situations.
Mervis said making dire comparisons to dystopian science fiction works is “a way to avoid talking about bias, energy consumption” and other AI issues.
Ultimately, he hopes AI “will free up teachers to do something meaningful.”
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Downtown Millerton
MILLERTON — Voter turnout in the Village of Millerton dropped sharply in 2025, with just 58 ballots cast in this year’s village election — less than a third of the record turnout seen just two years earlier.
The election on June 17 marked a stark contrast to 2023, when signs littered the intersection of Route 22 and Route 44 and 208 voters headed to the polls to decide a competitive mayoral race between incumbent Jenn Najdek and challenger Kelly Kilmer. That year also featured two contested trustee positions and generated the highest turnout in at least five years.
This year’s ballot looked much different. All three candidates — Mayor Jenn Najdek, Trustee David Sherman, and newcomer Katie Cariello — ran unopposed. With no contested races, just 57 voters turned out, plus one absentee ballot and one spoiled ballot.
Participation in village elections has fluctuated significantly over the past five years, often correlating with whether races were contested.
An uncontested trustee race during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw unusually low turnout with just 17 ballots cast. The 2022 election, which also featured two unopposed trustee candidates, saw a more typical 135 ballots.
Years with competitive mayoral or trustee races saw spikes in participation. In 2021, 147 voters turned out, followed by a special runoff one week later that drew 157 ballots after a tied trustee race. During that race, three trustees ran for two seats, with David Sherman and Laurie Kerr ultimately elected.
The most recent contested election in 2024 drew 122 voters. Matthew Hartzog, Matthew Soleau and Kelly Kilmer ran, with Hartzog and Soleau elected. While that marked a dip from the previous year, it was still more than double the number who turned out this year.
While elections in small villages like Millerton often see modest turnout, the wide swings from year to year suggest that competitive races — and clearer distinctions between candidates — play a major role in mobilizing voters.
Despite the lack of competition, this year’s election produced a few notable results. Trustee David Sherman led all candidates with 52 votes, including 13 on the Republican line and 39 on the Democratic. Mayor Najdek was re-elected with 47 votes — 41 on the Democratic line and six on the Republican. Newcomer Katie Cariello received 39 votes — 34 Democratic and five Republican. There were also four write-ins for mayor and three for trustee.