{"id":65142,"date":"2026-06-07T10:55:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/65142\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T10:55:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:55:23","slug":"artificial-intelligence-is-here-to-stay-are-hawai%ca%bbi-schools-ready-the-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/65142\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial Intelligence Is Here To Stay. Are Hawai\u02bbi Schools Ready? \u2013 The 74"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

For many schools, it\u2019s a race to keep up. Others are leading the pack. And some are unsure what to do with it.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly prominent role in Hawai\u02bbi education, from the recent opening of the state\u2019s first AI-focused charter school to the development of new coursework teaching students how to navigate rapidly changing technology. Teachers are also coming face-to-face with new technology, whether it\u2019s using AI avatars to test students\u2019 grasp of Mandarin Chinese vocabulary or confronting kids who are submitting assignments written by ChatGPT.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s wide variation in how much teachers and students are willing to engage with the new technology. Civil Beat spoke with nearly two dozen educators, administrators and students across the state about their experiences with AI in schools and what they expect the future to look like.<\/p>\n

\"\"Students at K\u016blia Academy in Kalihi learn how to write code starting in middle school with the goal of preparing them to pursue careers in fields like cybersecurity or AI engineering. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

A few years ago, the focus of AI in education was preventing students from cheating, said Michael Latham, president of Punahou School. Since then, he said, administrators and teachers at the O\u02bbahu private school have pivoted to teaching students how to use new tools responsibly, rather than banning them altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted our students to become really thoughtful and critical users,\u201d Latham said, \u201cto be able to understand these tools, but do so really with eyes wide open, aware of what some of the challenges would be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Public schools are piloting their own technology, including MagicSchool, a platform with AI tools like image generators and chatbots that teachers can tailor to their own lessons, said Winston Sakurai, educational administrative services director in the Department of Education\u2019s Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While teachers receive training on how to use these platforms, Sakurai acknowledges that some are faster to embrace technology than others. It\u2019s important for schools to find a balance between innovating with AI and meeting teachers where they\u2019re at, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people to embrace it,\u201d Sakurai said, \u201cbut we cannot afford to burn people out with the adoption of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Some students have already seen AI affect their career prospects in fields like computer science or game development. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Students also have varying levels of enthusiasm for the new technology. Some are emerging as statewide experts in the field, with one Punahou student developing resources to help teachers incorporate AI into their lessons. Others are more skeptical of the technology after they\u2019ve seen their classmates cheat on assignments or receive incorrect information from AI chatbots.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think personally, AI is a useful and dangerous tool,\u201d said Charwin Irebaria, a junior at McKinley High School. \u201cPeople should be cautious about what they try to get out of AI, because it can really affect our future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

McKinley High School<\/p>\n

\"\"Some teachers have shifted away from technology in recent years to ensure students are completing the coursework by themselves. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

In Cynthia Reves\u2019 McKinley High School classroom, an assortment of items litter students\u2019 desks: a bear-shaped pencil case, neon highlighters, a manila folder stuffed with papers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laptops and iPads are conspicuously absent from students\u2019 workspaces. Teens place their cellphones in mint green containers minutes after the bell rings and leave their devices there for the remainder of class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like many teachers, Reves is questioning if her students are using AI on their assignments \u2013 and whether it\u2019s appropriate for them to do so. In the past year, she\u2019s tried to eliminate some of the uncertainty by doubling down on paper and pencil assignments and reducing students\u2019 use of laptops and cellphones in her class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is dishonest use of AI?\u201d Reves said. \u201cThat implies there\u2019s an honest use of AI. What is that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a Friday morning in May, Reves ran her students through a series of short writing exercises to prepare them for their upcoming Advanced Placement English Language and Composition exam. Although the test would be online, Reves tasked her students with annotating passages and writing thesis statements by hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like this huge tension,\u201d Reves said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m walking backwards, and yet there\u2019s this AI thing that\u2019s pulling forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Amid the push for more AI in schools, Cynthia Reves said she\u2019s worried about all of the unknown consequences of students using the new technology. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Reves went to school in the 1980s, when students used typewriters to complete assignments and Macintosh computers were the newest technology. Reves has constantly adapted to change in her 30 years in education, from teaching remotely to managing cellphones in class, but she\u2019s worried about how the latest AI tools could impact students\u2019 learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the past, Reves said, she could quickly identify when a student didn\u2019t write a paper on their own. Just by plugging the opening sentences of a paper into Google, she said, she could tell when students found a copy of a similar assignment online and claimed it as their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, Reves doubts herself. While she occasionally questions if students have written an essay on their own, they\u2019ll deny using AI \u2013 and there\u2019s no way to prove it, Reves said. Many AI detection tools have proven unreliable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reves now confines most of her writing assignments to the classroom, rather than assigning essays as homework. If students want to finish a writing assignment during study hall, she said, she requires their teacher to sign off on the paper at the end of the period, affirming that the student completed the work on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"In a recent English class at McKinley, students put away their phones during class and completed their assignments using paper handouts. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

But Reves also knows she can\u2019t avoid AI forever. At the end of a recent English class, she assigned her students homework requiring them to read a short passage and answer questions. Once they completed the assignment, she said, they could run the writing prompts through AI to see how their answers compared to what the chatbot suggested.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She wouldn\u2019t have offered this option in August, Reves said. But her students have developed stronger writing skills and judgment throughout the year, and she believes they can now evaluate the AI responses\u2019 critically.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust you,\u201d Reves told her students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mid-Pacific Institute\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Preschoolers at Mid-Pacific Institute excitedly contribute to a class discussion as ChatGPT transcribes their conversation. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Leslie Gleim\u2019s preschool students at Mid-Pacific Institute are confident they can outsmart ChatGPT.<\/p>\n

On a recent Wednesday morning, Gleim led a small group of 5-year-olds in a lively conversation about the observations they made on a recent field trip to Ho\u02bbomaluhia Botanical Garden. She encouraged students to use their imagination to describe the clouds and explain how they came to life during their visit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the happiest cloud!\u201d one boy said. Another student speculated some of the clouds looked sad because the class hadn\u2019t visited the garden for a few weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the children chimed in, ChatGPT transcribed the discussion word for word on Gleim\u2019s phone. Later, Gleim asked it to summarize the themes that emerged during the students\u2019 conversation and compared the notes against her own observations.<\/p>\n

The AI tool didn\u2019t go unnoticed by the kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe seem smarter than Chat,\u201d one student, Knox, said as Gleim checked the AI transcription on her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you?\u201d she asked. The group of kids erupted into cheers and enthusiastic nods.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, Knox and his classmates put their theory to the test. One by one, they spoke into Gleim\u2019s phone, asking ChatGPT abstract questions about their field trip to the garden and the personalities they gave the clouds during their discussion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Teacher Leslie Gleim said ChatGPT helps her synthesize students\u2019 observations and her own research throughout the year. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

After every question, Gleim asked her students to evaluate ChatGPT\u2019s answers. Students were skeptical of the responses the AI generated \u2013 and Gleim was proud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou guys won!\u201d she said as students gave ChatGPT\u2019s answers a resounding thumbs-down.<\/p>\n

Using ChatGPT to record and transcribe her discussions with students has significantly saved her time over the past year, Gleim said. It also increases the stakes for students. When students know ChatGPT is listening to their conversation, she said, they\u2019re more intentional with their words.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Gleim doesn\u2019t want kids to think AI is the source of all answers. When she uses ChatGPT in front of her students, she said, she\u2019s not afraid to point out its mistakes, using phrases like, \u201cChat didn\u2019t get it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the gospel, but a tool,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hawai\u02bbi Technology Academy<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Kingston Collman came to a sombering realization: AI was coming for his dream job.<\/p>\n

Collman, a recent graduate from Hawai\u02bbi Technology Academy\u2019s Waipahu campus, spent his early years of high school studying game development and planned to pursue a career in computer science. But as AI became more advanced, he realized projects taking him a year and a half to complete could be completed in minutes by new technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, freshman year, AI is going to take over,\u201d the 18-year-old said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to study for six years ahead and then be jobless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Kingston Collman developed an AI-driven dashboard to help with social media content. He also used AI tools to help him write the code for the project. (Photo courtesy of Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Collman pivoted to using AI to pursue his passion of producing social media content. For his end-of-year project, Collman developed an AI assistant to expedite the process of creating videos for social media. The assistant can generate scripts, suggest a list of video shots and assist with creating social media posts in a matter of minutes \u2014 a process that previously took him over an hour, Collman said.<\/p>\n

The goal is to increase content creators\u2019 efficiency, not to remove humans from social media altogether, Collman said, adding that viewers still want to see authentic content.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to tell what the future will look like for social media creators, however, and he\u2019s worried more content could become AI-generated. Already, AI slop \u2014 low-quality videos created with AI \u2014 are becoming\u00a0increasingly popular<\/a>\u00a0on YouTube and other online platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know what\u2019s real or not,\u201d he said, \u201cwhich is very dangerous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of Collman\u2019s peers are equally skeptical of AI and how it could dominate fields traditionally untouched by technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adriana Hunt, another recent graduate from Hawai\u02bbi Technology Academy, is still reconciling how she can use AI to promote her artwork without compromising her creativity. For her end-of-year project, the 18-year-old asked ChatGPT to analyze her TikTok and Instagram art accounts and provide feedback on what types of posts were most likely to grow her online following.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ChatGPT offered her advice she previously hadn\u2019t considered, Hunt said, like adding more hashtags to her social media posts or posting more about her process of creating drawings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Adriana Hunt said she\u2019s worried that AI may reduce people\u2019s critical thinking skills and create unreasonable standards for art. (Craig Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Hunt draws the line at using AI to create new art.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When one of her teachers suggested using AI to generate ideas for her art or assist with her drawings, Hunt immediately rejected the idea. She uses art as a way to express herself and challenge her creativity \u2014 something that can\u2019t be replicated by a few keystrokes on the computer, Hunt said. She\u2019s also worried that relying on AI to generate art could set impossibly high standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never going to go away, because it\u2019s now so woven into the fabric of everything,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cBut we can learn how to rely on it less.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

K\u016blia Academy<\/p>\n

\"\"K\u016blia Academy puts a heavy emphasis on data analysis and coding to help students understand how AI works and how they can develop new technology themselves. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

In James Morice\u2019s data science class, sixth graders throw out phrases like \u201cbimodal distributions\u201d and \u201cright-skewed graphs\u201d with ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At K\u016blia Academy, a charter school in Kalihi, data science and coding are just as important to the curriculum as English and math. K\u016blia is Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s\u00a0first AI-focused<\/a>\u00a0middle and high school, opening in 2024 with ambitious plans to develop a seven-year program specializing in data science and coding.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before students can pursue careers in AI engineering and technology, Morice said, they have to learn the basics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a recent Thursday morning, sixth graders at K\u016blia were working\u00a0together to examine graphs and input formulas in Google Sheets that could help them analyze a large dataset on the maximum speeds of roller coasters across the country.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does every case represent?\u201d Morice asked the class. \u201cWhat are the attributes you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Seventh graders at K\u016blia Academy work on writing code in Python in a recent class. (Kevin Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

The goal is to give students the expertise they need to understand how AI works so they can go on to develop new tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students still receive plenty of opportunities to work with new technology at K\u016blia Academy, executive director Andy Gokce said. In English classes, Gokce said, students work with ChatGPT to receive feedback on their essays under the guidance of their teachers. Others have learned how to train AI models to distinguish between venomous and non-venomous snakes.<\/p>\n

But Gokce doesn\u2019t want his students to simply consume AI \u2014 he expects them to go on to lead the field and develop new technology as engineers or cybersecurity experts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want them to know, inside and out, how it actually works,\u201d Gokce said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wai\u0101kea Intermediate School<\/p>\n

\"\"Sixth grade teacher Tyler Kojima occasionally incorporates tools like AI chatbots into his world history classes. Kojima uses MagicSchool, an AI platform piloted by the education department. (Photo courtesy of Megan Tagami for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

Can students beat AI?\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenge sixth graders were eager to tackle in Tyler Kojima\u2019s world history class at Wai\u0101kea Intermediate School on the Big Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Kojima tasked his students with defending a historical invention of their choice to an AI chatbot. He had programmed the chatbot to be skeptical of students\u2019 inventions, which ranged from the Mesopotamian wheel to the woodblock printing technique.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kojima\u2019s students could hold a conversation with the chatbot to convince it of the value of their invention, but they had to prove their point in eight messages or fewer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not trying to throw in the towel,\u201d Kojima told his students. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to beat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the next 30 minutes, students furiously typed on their laptops as they responded to detailed questions from the chatbots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know it\u2019s more comfortable?\u201d the chatbot challenged one student who was trying to sell it on the value of a new camel saddle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should we trust ordinary citizens to make important decisions about our city?\u201d it said in response to a pitch about Athenian democracy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Teachers say students have varying levels of comfort with AI, although older students are more likely to use the technology in their personal lives. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Fujii for Civil Beat)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s natural for people to be resistant to new innovations and change, Kojima told his sixth graders. When AI emerged a few years ago, he said, many adults were skeptical of the new technology \u2014 and so were his students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the start of the year, Kojima said, many students believed AI was taboo. Most sixth graders don\u2019t seem to use AI in their personal lives, Kojima said, and were wary about using it for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kojima is hoping to change students\u2019 perceptions by introducing AI tools like chatbots and image generators that can make abstract topics in world history feel more concrete and exciting. He said he\u2019s also careful to set clear limitations on how students can use the technology, instructing the chatbots not to give students immediate answers during class activities and occasionally rejecting the feedback kids receive on their essays from AI writing tools.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tool is not going away,\u201d Kojima recalled telling his students. \u201cIt\u2019s up to you guys to know how to use it responsibly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Civil Beat\u2019s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.<\/p>\n

Did you use this article in your work?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019d love to hear how The 74\u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter For many schools,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,580,2095,2683,66],"class_list":["post-65142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-chatgpt","tag-content-creation","tag-hawaii","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}