Error, Incorrect link to this High School AI Policy form. Please contact itsupport@oakmeadow.com

Statement of Oak Meadow Principles for learning:

“The Summer’s Day” by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean —
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down —
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

It may seem odd to start a policy about the usage of AI with a poem, but it seemed a good way to create a clarification between the use of AI and all that remains true about our nature and potential as free-thinking physical beings. It is also to acknowledge that writing a policy about AI usage is not easy given the sea change that is afoot in regard to how AI is shaping our sense of self. We are at a point where we must be especially careful to ask ourselves what we want to become in our short precious lives, lest the decision is taken away from us. As you enter adulthood, it is important to consider how your choices will shape what is possible for you, or, indeed, what becomes impossible for you. 

We all know that our world is changing and that the speed of that change is unprecedented. At the forefront of this change is the exponential increase in the capacity of Generative AI and its integration into almost all aspects of our lives. Indeed, the divide between what is AI generated and what is the product of human intentions is blurring and has become confusing in an academic setting. This confusion is only more complicated by the valid uses of AI in many professions as a research tool that augments original thinking and ideas. We have all read about how AI has helped people in the sciences, in medicine, and in business solve complex problems. We also know that AI can sometimes be used to meaningfully assist people with disabilities. 

There does, however, remain a very important distinction between using AI as a research tool when you have already cultivated strong critical thinking skills and are confidently exploring complex ideas of your own making, and using AI to avoid having to do the necessary hard work that is the backbone of true creativity, individuality, and the advancement of knowledge. Using AI to do your thinking and writing for you is a shortcut that precludes actual thinking, learning, or development as a human being. 

Indeed, the indiscriminate use of AI to do one’s work can stunt a person’s cognitive capacity and preclude an engagement with the vital social and cultural lessons and knowledge that come from the effort, struggle, and discomfort leading to intellectual development. This is rather like building a house with shoddy materials instead of the strongest of foundations. There is no shortcut to the development of the critical thinking, creativity, and empathy that will be needed by you as you grow and seek to navigate our complex and increasingly volatile world. It is also very important to recognize that AI is often completely wrong in the content it creates, the grammar it uses, and the “facts” it has been known to invent. 

We understand that most internet research tools and some writing, editing, and support tools now use AI–meaning using AI in this way is increasingly unavoidable. AI systems like ChatGPT are also capable of assisting you in your research. We also know that all internet search engines, like Google, as well as word processing systems like Microsoft Word or others now employ AI in the research and writing process. However, as noted above, there is a difference in using AI as a tool to augment research driven by your ideas and curiosity and having it do your work for you. It is worth noting that using AI for research before you have a clear concept of what it is you are exploring and why, can rob you of developing important thinking skills related to:

• how to organize and process information
• how to evaluate usefulness and applicability of various sources

We strongly urge you to use–and trust–your own thoughts. Learning only happens when you take risks, make mistakes, and struggle to engage new, different, and often difficult material. Growth through engagement is both rewarding and helps you develop a deeper understanding of your life and the world around you.

With this in mind, I am writing to you to clarify what is unacceptable for Oak Meadow High School students in regard to the use of Generative AI or other systems in the completion of your school work. I would also remind us all of one of our missions, which is to assist young adults in the “unfolding of their true self.” This necessarily requires a dive into one’s mind, skills, perceptions, and desires, and is work that can only be done by the learner.

We at Oak Meadow value the personal, authentic, and meaningful connections we build with our students and families and we are devoted to continuing to foster those dynamics. The teachers and directors at Oak Meadow are committed to the continued development of human relationships as we believe they are the foundation of what makes Oak Meadow special. We pledge to not use AI when communicating with students and families via email, welcome letters, or otherwise, we will not use AI to generate feedback on student work, we will not use AI to write semester and end of year evaluations, and we will not use AI to write letters of recommendation. We will continue to rely on the interpersonal relationships we form, and our own human connection, to provide genuine and authentic communication, feedback, and evaluation.

AI use policy and agreement: 

• Unless you are citing source material from your books or other research material, or you are synthesizing information from multiple credible sources (and citing them), your ideas must be your own. We want your work to fundamentally represent you and what you think. If you are ever confused about this, please ask your teacher for advice.
• AI detection is a fast-developing field. In determining whether a student has used AI, Oak Meadow will consult the student, their other teachers, and the latest AI detection technology. We are extremely confident in our ability to fairly and accurately investigate AI usage, where needed. Oak Meadow will be the final arbiter of whether a student has used AI. Student work that is deemed to be generated by AI will be considered an incidence of plagiarism.
• Some examples of AI that would be considered plagiarism if you submitted it as your own, original work include:
  • Using AI tools to generate or edit text for reports, essays, creative writing, and poetry 
  • Using AI to create videos, audio, and/or images without proper citation or teacher pre-approval 
  • Finding answers to assignment questions (Oak Meadow provides you with books and primary source materials that you should read in order to answer such questions; the internet is only needed for specific questions or as otherwise directed by your teachers.)
  • Using an AI app or tool to generate work and/or solutions for math and science problems
• An unauthorized use of AI tools or systems such as ChatGPT will make a student ineligible to participate in our National Honor Society program since this program is above all about integrity and hard work.
• Teachers may refuse to write a recommendation letter for your college application. Recommendation letters are statements of confidence in a student. Students who’ve violated these policies risk losing that confidence from their teachers.

If a teacher or staff member discovers the use of AI in a student’s lessons the following will occur:

• The student and parent will receive an email from their teacher outlining the inappropriate use of AI. In accordance with our plagiarism policy your first infraction will be seen as an educational opportunity, and you will need to speak to your teacher and will be given a warning and opportunity to correct your mistake. Second instances of AI use will result in a failed lesson or even a course, and could lead to being withdrawn from the school.
• The student will receive a failing grade on that assignment, but may be able to resubmit it once re-done. The teacher will require the student to meet with them on zoom to discuss the issue and ensure that it does not happen in the future.
• Continuing  use of AI will be subject to the condition set out by our plagiarism policy

AI includes the following:

Any large language model or generative AI platforms like ChatGPT or Google AI are prohibited, as are things like Photomath, Mathos (and other equation solving tools) or Adobe AI. However, there are too many AI platforms that exist to create an exhaustive list–indeed, new ones are being developed every day. With this in mind, AI is understood to be any technology that does your thinking, writing, or problem solving for you. Using such technology will be considered a violation of this policy. Using AI to do work for you, and disrupt your ability to learn, is a very serious matter and threatens your ability to think and become a functioning adult. 

Special note about Grammarly or similar programs beyond spellcheck and simple grammatical suggestions: using the suggested re-writes offered by these programs is in fact using AI technology to do your work for you, and will read as AI usage by our AI checker. 

Please sign that you have read and understood this policy. Students, please also respond to the question prompt below. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at afortescue@oakmeadow.com