Mondays with Mike: Kicking off the 24-25 School Year

It’s Monday, and it’s “Ready Week” at Portsmouth Christian Academy. Teachers and staff are back on campus getting ready. We’re also kicking off tryouts for many of our varsity sports teams this week .

This is a time of great excitement as all our staff and faculty return to prepare for the start of the school year, which begins next week. We’re thrilled to welcome you and your children back on campus and can’t wait to see you, and thank God for this season of the year. As we prepare for the school year, please pay attention to the communications you’ve received, especially from our principals.

There have been some updates over the summer, and reviewing these details will help smooth your arrival and transition into the new school year. Whether you’re a new family or a returning one, these updates are important. We are praying for you and ask for your prayers as we finish up Ready Week and head into Welcome Week.

This year is a double anniversary year for PCA. It’s our silver anniversary year on this campus, marking 25 years, and our sapphire anniversary year, celebrating 45 years since the founding of PCA, originally Bethel Christian Academy. Throughout the year, we’ll highlight God’s faithfulness and share stories of how He has guided and provided for us over the years. We enter this year with great gratitude, hope, and humility, trusting in God’s continued guidance.

Now, let’s talk about something increasingly relevant in our society and something I have been mentioning we would cover this summer—artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a part of our lives and has “enrolled” at PCA and other schools. At PCA, I am providing guiding principles with AI for our team to develop further policies. At its best, AI is a tool to enhance and strengthen human interaction, not replace it or serve as a faux substitute.

For staff and faculty, AI can help organize thoughts and communicate more effectively. However, for students, we aim to ensure that AI does not short-circuit their learning process. We want to see their work and understand their knowledge to help them grow. We’ll be reinforcing the importance of students doing their own work without relying on AI; we clearly need to know what is a student’s own work and what isn’t, so we can help them grow into their true potential. Expect to see more presentations of student work, which will help us assess their true understanding and give them valuable experience in communicating their ideas.

AI can also help personalize education by identifying areas where students might need more support or challenge, complementing what our excellent teachers are already doing. Trust is crucial as we navigate the integration of AI in education. We want you to trust that what your child is doing at PCA will help them grow.

Transparency and communication are key, and we are committed to upholding these values. We believe that enabling students to develop their ideas and use AI appropriately will build their confidence and help them discern what is true and reliable.

To summarize, our approach to AI at PCA for the 24-25 school year is as follows:

1. AI is a tool to assist, not replace, especially for staff and faculty.
2. We will test students’ understanding authentically to help them grow.
3. AI can tailor learning to meet each student’s needs, augmenting teacher efforts.
4. We aim to build trust through clear communication and transparency.

We look forward to being on this journey with you. Please share your thoughts on AI in education and how you see it impacting your child’s learning–please provide feedback below. Your input is valuable as we navigate these challenges together.

As we wrap up Ready Week and head into Welcome Week, we thank you for your prayers and support. We’re excited to see what God will do this year for your children and cannot wait to welcome you back on campus soon. God bless you, and see you on campus no later than next Monday!