Article Text
Student journalists across FCPS challenged school leaders on the educational, ethical and environmental consequences of artificial intelligence during an hour-long panel on April 30.
Superintendent Michelle Reid and Chief Information Technology Officer Gautam Sethi hosted the question-and-answer session, which included one nominee from each FCPS high school journalism program. In all, 27 students participated.
The discussion came as FCPS continued exploring classroom uses for AI. The school system joined the ChatGPT for Teachers pilot program in December 2025, encouraging educators to use the technology strategically and ethically.
Gisselle Tedla of West Springfield High School’s student publication, The Oracle, raised concerns about how AI is being introduced. Sethi acknowledged that even experienced educators face a learning curve when applying the technology in their classrooms.
He said access to AI tools is only the beginning. FCPS is also developing training opportunities and policies that will guide their future use.
Reid argued that the school system must weigh AI’s potential benefits alongside its risks. She pointed to students using Google NotebookLM to create quizzes, ask questions and improve presentations as examples of productive applications.
The conversation also addressed surveillance, security and data privacy. Reid said FCPS is establishing safeguards through training, awareness efforts and data-security agreements. Understanding the tools, she said, is necessary even if the school system ultimately decides some should not be used.
Environmental costs emerged as another concern. Ariya Lee, a junior and news editor of Chantilly High School’s Purple Tide, asked how FCPS would account for the energy demands of AI and data centers while deciding how extensively to encourage the technology in classrooms.
Reid said students will need to understand both the power of AI and its environmental effects. Reflecting on the Navajo principle of considering how decisions could affect seven future generations, she questioned whether that long-term perspective might change the path toward AI adoption.
The panel showed that FCPS is moving ahead with classroom experimentation while students continue pressing leaders to confront the unresolved tradeoffs. The 27 journalists spent the session questioning Reid and Sethi about technology that could substantially reshape learning throughout the school system.