A teacher at Bennett’s Mill Middle School in Fayetteville is among 30 educators from 21 states chosen to be part of an artificial intelligence pilot program. Betia Bentley, who currently teaches broadcasting, applied for the computer science initiative, which is a partnership between Microsoft and Code.org. As part of the CS Discoveries curriculum, the program lets students work with datasets to create machine learning models to explore new technologies. It will first be offered to 7th graders enrolled in the school’s computer science course, and students in all grade levels there will later be able to learn AI using Code.org.

Bentley said the school’s participation “emphasizes the important of student voice, ownership of learning and the ability to make a positive impact in the lives of others through computer science.”