WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — We are taking a closer look at how artificial intelligence is being used in every middle and high school in Palm Beach county.
WPTV spent some time at Western Pines Middle School, inside Ms. Cheryl Sall’s sixth grade Language Arts class to see how students are reacting to this new technology.
WATCH: Students tell WPTV what it's like using AI in the classroom
Since the start of the running school year, the system has incorporated Khanmigo into classrooms for all middle and high schools.
“They've done lessons on it. They've done vocab on it. They've done research on it,” said Sall. “it’s engaging, it's educational and it's a great hook for a lesson.”
Khanmigo is a toolbox for teachers and students. It includes things like a writing coach, review games, and a chatbot.
Right now, it has more than 170 million users all over the world, with around 350 school districts using it every day. It runs on the same platform as Khan Academy, an education pioneer for decades.
It gives Sall some peace of mind.
“I didn't have to worry about them just wildly searching the internet and what they might find because, you know, Khanmigo is very focused and student friendly,” she said.
Sall said students use the program about once a week. For the lesson during our time at the class, students were learning more about Harriet Tubman.
Students asked the program questions about Tubman, and asked the chatbot to respond pretending it was the historical figure. It worked.
Elijah Irene, a student in that class, said he really enjoys using the program. He said it keeps him thinking.
“I like how it tries to like stay at your grade level and doesn't explain too much detail so like you can understand it and then like chops it down to little bits there,” he said.
Superintendent Mike Burke had a big role in getting this new technology into classrooms. They launched a pilot program last year, and they’ve expanded.
“In this school year we'll be able to take a step back and kind of look at our achievement results and try to gauge the impact,” Burke said.
The district says the program cost $2,545,000 in the first year.
The Stiles-Nicholson Foundation covered half the cost, leaving the district to pay $1,272,500.
For the 2025-2026 contract, the district will pay $1,138,000, and they anticipate the cost to decrease overtime with the technology advancing quickly.
“It's a sizable expense for us, but the reach is far,” said Burke.
Sall told WPTV News reporter Victor Jorges she was originally hesitant about artificial intelligence but is pleased with what she’s seen from the program.
“it's important that they learn to use it as a tool and not the be all end all,” she said.
The school’s principal, Philip Preddy, said they have data to prove the program is helping students. He told Jorges students are testing at end-of-year levels already in February. He says this program isn’t a shortcut for education, and it’s not meant to replace teachers.
“The program prompts them over and over again,” Preddy said. “The teacher is the most valuable person in the classroom”
For Elijah, it has become part of his everyday learning.
“It's any class really,” he said. “A lot of my teachers encourage it if you need help to ask him and then if he doesn't make sense to ask the teacher and they'll explain it more for you.”
