'ChatGPT for Teachers': Northern VA school districts test out new AI program for educators – FOX 5 DC
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A first-of-its-kind AI rollout is coming to classrooms in Fairfax County and Prince William County. OpenAI — the makers of ChatGPT — is partnering with about a dozen school districts nationwide on a new pilot tool built exclusively for teachers and only two districts in the D.C. region made the cut.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A first-of-its-kind AI rollout is coming to classrooms in Fairfax County and Prince William County.
OpenAI — the makers of ChatGPT — is partnering with about a dozen school districts nationwide on a new pilot tool built exclusively for teachers and only two districts in the D.C. region made the cut.
Pilot program:
Fairfax County and Prince William County are the only school districts in the DMV selected to partner with OpenAI to pilot "ChatGPT for teachers."
Prince William County Superintendent Dr. Latanya McDade says the tool is a game-changer designed to maximize what teachers can do for their students.
It’s called "ChatGPT for Teachers." The platform features teacher-specific prompts, built-in collaboration tools, and most importantly. Privacy and security protections not found in regular AI platforms, which often use inputs to train their models.
"One of the things we’re most excited about with this version is the safety and security that comes with it," said Matt Guilfoyle, Chief Information Officer for Prince William County Schools. "It’s an enterprise version — they’re not training the model on the data teachers input, so they are able to do things in a much more safe and secure way. That data is not stored. We have the ability for Prince William County Schools to monitor it to make sure it’s used in a safe way."
This new pilot is rolling out across more than a dozen districts nationwide, from California to Texas and only two here in the D.C. area.
What they’re saying:
Many teachers already use ChatGPT to design lesson plans, analyze writing samples, and find creative ways to engage students.
One local high school teacher told FOX 5 that this version could significantly cut down the hours they spend prepping.
"We'd be so consumed with how long it took to structure fun lessons. Time is cut to maybe an eighth of the time it took before, so we can spend more time in the room, with the students, having fun the activities," Woodbridge High School teacher Brittany Sudberry said.
ChatGPT for teachers is exclusively for educators and school leaders, not students, at least not yet, and districts say it’s a supplemental tool not a replacement for the human role teachers play.
"Absolutely what we do not want is for ChatGPT to replace critical though." Guilfoyle said. "We absolutely still believe that Instruction and support for students are still delivered by a trusted adult and by the teacher."
Big picture view:
The pilot in Prince William County is now active in about 100 schools, giving 13,000 teachers access as the district tries to keep pace with technology.
"It's very important for us, at the new stage, to teach our young people who will be using this in their careers and in their entire lives, how to take command of it rather than it take command of them and their thoughts," Sudberry said.
The tool will be free through June 2027. After that, districts will decide whether it’s worth investing in long-term.
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