One Connecticut school has introduced a traffic light system to manage the use of generative AI in classrooms. Green light means full access, red bans all AI, and yellow allows some tools while banning others. This approach aims to harness AI’s benefits, from lesson planning to feedback, without compromising on quality or personalization.

The school's librarian and tech coordinator, George Aiello, trains staff on crafting useful prompts for AI. They also highlight the technology's limits, teaching students about potential inaccuracies and biases. Through creative exercises, like editing homework with language models and anonymously grading each other’s work, they reflect on responsible AI use.

Cheshire Academy now labels assignments as traffic lights—green means full AI access, red bans all, and yellow allows some tools while banning others. They even run a Student AI Council to explore healthy AI practices. This program encourages students to think critically about how AI can benefit the community, promoting ethical use.

The school has also experimented with MagicSchool, a comprehensive tool that generates questions, assignments, grading rubrics, and more across subjects and grade levels. However, not all teachers are comfortable using LLMs for student-facing text, leading them to opt for general-purpose chatbots or administrative tasks instead. While the cost of MagicSchool can be prohibitive, free options like Anthropic’s Claude offer similar benefits.