BELLAIRE — Bellaire Local Schools added new technology and programs over the past couple years with plans for new developments in the future, too, such as artificial intelligence training.

Bellaire Middle and High school teachers will be trained and credentialed in the effective and safe use of artificial intelligence for education, allowing students to be properly trained and ready for the future, according to Superintendent Derrick McAfee.

Right now, the state is reimbursing schools to do a certain amount of AI training, so McAfee said the district is embracing artificial intelligence instead of being scared of it because of the unknown. He noted that many people don’t understand what it is and how it works.

“It’s scary, so we are looking to incorporate it into the school district and into the curriculum and teach kids how to use it responsibly, teach kids how to use it safely,” he said. “So instead of it being the Boogeyman and saying, ‘Nope, not here, not going to do it,’ we’re not serving our kids well by doing that. So by exposing our staff to it, training our staff in it, and then therefore, exposing our kids and our students to it, we’re going to be able to have our kids prepared for AI.”

McAfree said bringing in new programs and technology has been an excellent experience. He said a school could buy different programs and invest in curriculums, but a school has to have staff and students who are willing to learn and work with it, which he said Bellaire has.

In 2024, Bellaire brought Vex Robotics to the middle and high schools, virtual reality to all the schools in the district, an Anatomage table to the high school and a computer numerical control machine.

In the fall, Bellaire schools received virtual reality headsets for elementary, middle and high school students. The students might not use the VR headsets every day, but they are there to accent what students are learning in their classrooms.

Although there is a difference in ability levels between the schools, McAfee said students love the VR headsets that are designed for education.

“The elementary kids love it. They don’t know any different,” he said. “These are new things for middle and high school kids. So that the excitement is palpable with those guys.”

Students can learn anything from science-related education to math and social studies lessons on the VR headsets. Someone can even have the simulated experience of going inside of a cell via the headset or be placed in the setting of an English book.

McAfee said the teachers like the headsets as well, saying the schools have a staff that is “fearless and wonderful.”

“It’s amazing for us. People look down on this part of the state sometimes,” he said. “I don’t know why. Our kids are extraordinarily talented, and it’s just giving them the platform to demonstrate that.”

Vex Robotics is another program the school implemented in the fall of 2024 in the middle and high schools. There are two phases to the program this year: a classroom program and a competition program. Bellaire schools started with the classroom program but will work their way into competitions when the time comes.

McAfee described Vex Robotics as a kit of different parts, such as the nuts and bolts and motors and wheels that students need to use as they follow a set of instructions to assemble robots.

He added that the students are able to succeed and fail on their own working with the robotics, because they’re working collaboratively in groups with little direction for the teacher.

“They make mistakes. They learn from their mistakes,” McAfee said. “And what it is, it’s really reflective of what you would see in a workplace. Instead of that structured, sitting in desks in rows following a lecture or notes, you have kids actually hands on — building, collaborating, problem-solving on their own. And it is really, really awesome.”

An Anatomage table was also brought to the high school at the beginning of the school year in 2024. The technology produces digitized cadavers, allowing students to perform virtual dissections. It is used in medical school and health care simulation centers. The high school was able to bring this in with a grant from the Pugliese Foundation.

McAfee said the district is trying to be forward thinking and operate differently than what’s traditionally happened, not just in this region, but nationally. He said a district can be small but still invest in programs.

One of the things the school has been interested in the past few years is post graduation outcomes, so it is starting to follow up with students who have graduated, finding out where the school is strong and weak and what students could learn differently.

McAfee said although the district follows a curriculum, it isn’t always necessarily preparing students for college or the workforce. So the district is trying to give students a broad range of experiences so they can be better informed as to what they want to do after high school.

“Many kids may decide to go straight into a career,” he said. “It’s hard to make that decision unless you’re exposed to different facets of education.”

Curriculum Director Kellie Cusick said all the new programs are for engaging and helping students with different learning styles excel.

The school also implemented a program in 2020 called “Project Lead the Way” for K-12 that features science, technology, engineering and math activities that teachers use to prepare and support students for a STEM-driven world.

Another new program the district added for the high school art department, newspaper and yearbook staff was drone photography in 2023.

“Where you can engage the kids and want them to learn, they want to learn,” she said. “They want to learn more. That’s what it’s all about.”