Student Integrity & Honesty
Using AI

Dear Students,

We live in an incredible time. With artificial intelligence tools right at your fingertips, you have access to technology that can answer questions, organize notes, and explain complex concepts in seconds.

However, with these new tools comes an important truth you need to hear: using AI to write your essays, solve your homework, or generate your assignments isn't a shortcut - it’s shortchanging your future self.

We get it. School gets busy, stress builds up, and sometimes you find yourself staring at a deadline for an assignment you forgot about or a topic you just don't understand. In those moments, letting AI do the work for you might feel like an easy way out, but presenting AI-generated content as your own work is plagiarism and a form of academic dishonesty.

Why the Struggle Matters

Think about anything you've ever gotten really good at - whether it’s a sport, playing an instrument, gaming, or a skill you care about. You didn't get better by watching someone else do it for you. You got better by trying, making mistakes, feeling frustrated, adjusting, and trying again.

Learning works the exact same way!

The value of an assignment isn't just having a finished page to hand in; it’s what happens in your brain while you work through it:

• The "struggle" is actually learning. When you wrestle with a tough concept or figure out how to put an idea into your own words, your brain creates new neural connections that help you remember and understand.

• No effort = no learning. If you didn't have to think, analyze, or problem-solve to produce an answer, you didn't actually learn anything - you are just repeating it.

• Plagiarism destroys trust. Copying work from the web or generating answers through AI without permission breaks the culture of trust in our school. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty carry real consequences—not just for your grades, but for your integrity and your future self. 

• AI doesn't build your skill. Letting AI generate your work means the machine did the thinking, not you. You walk away with a grade, but without the actual skill, critical thinking, or confidence to handle harder challenges down the road.  Learning builds on itself over time, so letting a machine do the work for you now means those struggles will only amplify later - forcing you to circle back to the basics to handle the harder material down the line. No one wants double the work - so we want you to realize that this is not a shortcut!

Before You Ask AI...

Before opening an AI tool, pause for just a moment and ask yourself one simple question:

What thinking do I need to do first before AI can genuinely help me?

If AI is doing the part of the assignment that is supposed to help you learn, then it isn't helping you - it is replacing the very experience that allows your brain to grow. On the other hand, if you have already done the thinking and are asking AI to quiz you, give you feedback, explain a confusing concept in a different way, or help you reflect on your work, AI can become a valuable learning partner instead of a shortcut.

What to Do Instead

If you're stuck, behind, or confused, you have better options than resorting to plagiarism or cheating:

1. Be honest with your teacher. Talk to your teacher directly. If you forgot an assignment or feel overwhelmed, tell your teacher before or after class. Respect and honesty go further than a plagiarized or AI-generated answer. While this does not mean there won't be consequences for late or missed work, taking ownership shows maturity, proves you're trying to do the right thing, and the outcome of being honest far outweighs the severe consequences of cheating, plagiarizing, or using AI in an unauthorized way.

2. Ask for help with the confusion. If you don't understand the material, let your teacher know where you're getting stuck so your teacher can explain it differently or give you extra guidance . If your teacher allows the use of AI, you can ask AI questions to help explain concepts differently - just make sure you are using it to guide your understanding, not asking it for the answers.  Always check the "Allowed AI Use Scale" or the classroom rules around the use of AI the teacher should have provided you for your specific class or assignment to know exactly what level of AI assistance is permitted before you start. If your teacher did not specify, ask for clarity before you begin.  

3. Use AI as a study tool, not a ghostwriter. When permitted by your teacher, use AI to brainstorm ideas or quiz you on study materials - never to generate the work you hand in. Make sure to take the extra steps to properly cite any AI tool you use, and always fact-check everything it outputs, as AI can make up information. It's important, and highly recommended, that you keep track of your draft process and scratch notes so you can clearly show the path of all the work you did in case any questions arise.

Our goal isn't just to make sure you get good grades; it's to help you build real abilities, strong character, and critical thinking skills that will serve you for the rest of your life.

Don't trade your own growth for a copy-pasted shortcut. Trust yourself, put in the effort, and let your teacher help you when things get tough.

Sincerely,

Your Teachers and School Administrators