AI is already part of how the world works. Students graduating in the next five years will enter a job market where fluency with AI tools is expected, not optional. But fluency does not mean dependence. The real question for schools is not whether to allow AI in the classroom. It is how to teach students to use it well, think critically about what it produces, and know when to set it aside and rely on their own thinking.
The International Baccalaureate Organization has taken a clear position: AI tools will not be banned. Instead, schools are expected to help students use them ethically and transparently, in line with the IB’s principles of academic integrity. At the International American School of Warsaw, our approach is built on that same foundation.
The IB Position on AI
The IB updated its Academic Integrity Policy to include dedicated guidance on the use of artificial intelligence tools. The position is straightforward: AI-generated content is not considered a student’s own work unless it is properly cited and referenced. Students must be transparent about how and where they used AI in any assessed work.
The IB applies two key principles. First, if a student uses AI to help them learn, that is acceptable. Second, if a student uses AI to produce work they then present as their own, that is not acceptable. The distinction is between using a tool to deepen understanding and using a tool to bypass the thinking entirely.
This matters because AI tools are not going away. The IB has compared them to calculators, spell checkers, and translation software. Technologies that changed how work gets done, but did not eliminate the need for understanding. Schools that ban AI push its use underground. Schools that allow it without structure end up with students who cannot distinguish between generating output and actually learning something. The IB’s approach, and ours, sits in between: teach students to use these tools critically and honestly.
How This Works Across Grade Levels at the International American School of Warsaw
We take a phased approach matched to where students are in their development.
In the early years, Kindergarten through Grade 5, AI tools are not used in the classroom. The focus at this stage is on building the skills that no technology can replace: reading, writing by hand, forming arguments in your own words, solving problems step by step. These foundational abilities matter more now than ever, precisely because AI makes it easy to skip them. A child who never learns to write a paragraph on their own will struggle to evaluate whether an AI-generated paragraph is any good.
In the middle years, Grades 6 through 8, students begin working with AI under teacher supervision. They learn what these tools can do, they test where they break down, and they compare AI output against their own thinking. Teachers design activities where students evaluate AI-generated responses for accuracy, bias, and depth. The point is not to train students to use AI as a shortcut. It is to develop the critical eye they will need for the rest of their lives.
In the upper school, Grades 9 through 12, students use AI as part of their academic and creative process with clear expectations around originality and citation. Within the IB Diploma Programme, this aligns directly with the IB’s updated Academic Integrity Policy. Students learn to declare AI use transparently, evaluate AI-generated research critically, and produce original work that reflects genuine understanding. The IB’s mark schemes reward original thinking, not quoted or generated text.
A formal school-wide AI policy is being finalised and will be shared with families in the coming months. The framework described here reflects the principles already guiding classroom practice.
Creativity and Original Thinking Come First
AI is good at producing competent first drafts, summarising information, and generating ideas quickly. But competence is not the same as creativity. A student who uses AI to write an essay has a finished product. A student who writes the essay themselves has a developed mind.
At the International American School of Warsaw, we are not interested in students who can produce polished output fast. We are interested in students who can think through a problem from scratch, make unexpected connections, and bring something genuinely their own to the table.
This is why programmes like our upcoming Innovation Zone matter. Students will pitch original ideas to a panel of judges, defend their thinking under pressure, and demonstrate that their work is theirs. No chatbot can do that for them. That is creativity. That is critical thinking. That is what universities and employers are looking for.
AI tools are part of the toolkit. They are not the toolkit.
What This Means for Families
Some parents worry their children are falling behind if they are not using AI constantly. Others worry the opposite, that AI is replacing real learning. Both concerns are valid, and both come from the same place: wanting the best for your child.
Our approach is designed to give students confidence with these tools without letting the tools replace the thinking. The IB’s two-part test is a useful guide for families as well. Is your child using AI to help them learn? Good. Is your child using AI to avoid doing the work? That is the line.
A student who graduates from the International American School of Warsaw will know how to use AI effectively. They will also know how to work without it. They will not panic when a tool is unavailable because their own skills are solid. They will be able to tell the difference between a well-researched argument and a confidently worded guess.
If you have questions about how AI is used in your child’s classroom, your child’s teacher is the right person to ask. Every teacher at the International American School of Warsaw is engaged in ongoing professional development around responsible AI integration, guided by both the IB framework and our own developing school policy.
Already Underway
AI is not going away. The students sitting in our classrooms today will work alongside it for the rest of their careers. Our job is to make sure they are the ones in control, not the other way around.
That starts with strong foundations in the early years, guided exploration in the middle years, and confident, critical use in the upper school, all grounded in the IB’s principles of academic integrity and transparency.
At the International American School of Warsaw, that work is already underway.
