File Photo/Randall Bennett Photography Director of Elizabethton City Schools Richard VanHuss

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By Buzz Trexler
Star Correspondent

Students and teachers in Elizabethton city schools will have the benefit of an artificial intelligence literacy platform in the coming academic year following Tuesday night’s regular meeting.

Under the three-year, $37,800 agreement with MagicSchool of Boulder, Colo., students and teachers will have access to AI literacy tools that include assets such as standards-aligned instruction, support, tutoring and chatbots.

When the software agreement was first brought before the school board during June’s regular meeting, Director of Schools Richard VanHuss told board members that an artificial intelligence committee had been formed earlier in the year to “get a handle on the vastness of artificial intelligence and how it affects the school system.”

“There’s two or three big buckets that we’re really focusing on,” VanHuss said then, explaining that the most important one is training. “Training on appropriate use, training on what tools are there,” he said.

“The reality is, students are already using artificial intelligence,” the director said. “There’s no question, whether they’re at school, at home, they’re using it.”

Artificial intelligence is “permeating everything in our lives,” VanHuss said. “We feel a real sense of responsibility that it’s there, they’re going to use it. It’s our job to teach them how to use it appropriately.”

VanHuss said the MagicSchool platform gives students access to AI knowledgebases created by companies like ChatGPT, Gemini and others, but nothing from the student is fed into the system. “It’s basically a one-way street,” he said. “They can access it, but their information doesn’t become part of the system itself.”

PERSONNEL ACTIONS

The board approved the following new hires: Brandon Shumate, interim special education (SPED) teacher at T.A. Dugger Junior High School (TAD), effective Aug. 1; Justin White, assistant principal at Elizabethton High School (EHS), effective July 21; Holly Holsclaw, community involvement program (CIP) swim instructor, effective June 16; Brittany May, assistant volleyball coach at EHS, effective June 11; Danny O’Quinn, administrative supervisor at central office, effective July 1; Elizabeth Powell, librarian at Harold McCormick Elementary School (HME), effective July 2; and Benjamin Mullins, supplemented band staff at EHS, effective July 2.

The board added the position of assistant cross country coach at EHS, hiring Jonathan Baker, effective June 18.

The board approved the following transfers: Susan Frickel, from interim teacher to educational assistant, effective July 1; Billie Chinault, from secretary/library assistant to attendance registrar at TAD, effective July 1; Maggie Carpentar, from full-time substitute to secretary/library assistant at TAD, effective July 1; and Ryan Biller, from TAD to HME as educational assistant, effective July 1.

The board approved the following retirements: Becky Porch, effective May 30; Penny Nave, effective July 1; John Hutchins, effective July 1; and Dorothy Casey, effective July 7.

The board approved the following resignations: Jael Fregoso, Laura Morris, Eileen Knott, Christy Manning and Maggie Booher.

The board approved the termination of Abigail Parsons, educational assistant at East Side Elementary, effective May 30.

The board approved a leave of absence for Madison Hutchins, SPED teacher, effective Aug. 1–May 26, 2026.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, at the Madck Perce Board Room of the Elizabethton Board of Education, 804 S. Watauga Ave.