Photo By Eric Pilgrim | One of the changes at Fort Knox Schools this year is a ban on mobile cell devices, to...... read more read more
FORT KNOX, Ky. — Fort Knox Schools will undergo some changes this year that are expected to foster a more focused learning environment and greater growth opportunities.
The changes, according to school administrators, are designed by the Department of War Education Activity to focus centrally on students. Examples include no use of cell phones during school hours, understanding of when and how to use artificial intelligence and weaving classical education back into the curriculum.
“It's a mindset shift for some teachers, but some are already teaching that way," said Christopher Ford, principal of Fort Knox High School. "The biggest purpose is to make sure we’re emphasizing literacy, reasoning, critical thinking and other areas.”
Some of those other areas will include civics and patriotism. Tracey Martinez, principal of Scott Middle School, said they will be strategic about including classical education.
“We are intentionally fostering patriotism, love of country and a commitment to the timeless ideals of liberty, service, responsibility and citizenship,” said Martinez.” Through our new Student Ambassador Program, students will have opportunities to lead by example, encourage school pride and promote these values within their grade levels and throughout our school community.”
Ford said promoting literacy to students is an important aspect of the classical model, so teachers will have students open books and read them.
“Getting back to reading novels is a big push that [DOWEA] has been talking about,” said Ford. “With a lot of it – the reasoning and discussion – it was already here; we already do it. The big difference is the renewed focus on the historical components.”
Martinez emphasized the need for educators and parents alike to keep students at the center of their efforts. Therefore, her teachers will be working with parents to promote their children’s growth.
“Education is most successful when schools and families work together,” said Martinez. “Our parents are valued and essential partners in this journey, and we look forward to building strong relationships that support every child's growth and success.”
Kingsolver Elementary School Principal Aristian Torregano said that partnering process is especially important for the younger students.
“Parents are essential partners in education and a child's first teachers,” said Torregano.
Because of this, parents can expect to receive regular forms of communication from teachers and school staff through newsletters, emails, social media posts, parent-teacher conferences, the school website and family engagement events.
“Working together ensures that every scholar receives every chance to succeed,” said Torregano. “Parents may tire of hearing from us.”
A change that has made waves among some students and parents is the new mobile device policy. According to Ford, there will be a ban on the use of all devices, including smart watches and eyewear, during school hours.
“At our high school, I don’t think it will be as big of a shift as it has been at some area schools because we already had policies for our cell phones,” said Ford.
The difference this year, said Ford, is that they previously allowed cell phones out during morning classes and during lunch. Starting this year, students can use their devices until they enter the building in the mornings, and during some time at the end of the day.
“It’s going to improve instruction,” said Ford. “Even as adults, when we have this device close by us, we’re constantly checking the time or checking to see if anyone messaged us back or checking emails.
“That was a distraction for our students, even for the students that didn’t have a recurring issue.”
Artificial intelligence will see a bigger emphasis this year than when Fort Knox Schools rolled it out last year.
At the elementary level, AI will be taught at a beginning level. Torregano said her students will be introduced to emerging technologies like AI in age-appropriate ways, but the focus will remain on strong instruction and student engagement.
Principals and assistant principals at DOWEA gathered this summer to participate in technology training designed to help them understand how best to use AI. What came out of it, according to Ford, was a lot of discussion generated by scenario exercises about what constitutes plagiarism when using AI, and what doesn’t.
“We had a lot of discussions,” said Ford. “Some principals were like, ‘No, this is plagiarism.’ But when we started peeling back the layers of the onion, we realized that when students have the idea and start pulling in all the information, and they were the students’ ideas and thoughts, AI was only used to help create the product.”
Ford said his students will use AI throughout the year, learning what right looks like.
“We have to make sure they understand what responsibly use is: what is AI plagiarism and is AI enhancement,” said Ford. “That’s going to be a big push in our classes this year.”
As students and parents settle into the new school year, Torregano echoed what Martinez and Ford also stated: that Fort Knox Schools’ teachers and administrators have their backs.
“We are committed to providing a safe, supportive and academically challenging environment where every scholar can thrive,” said Torregano. “By working together … we can prepare future-ready citizens who uphold the values of liberty, service and self-governance.”
| Date Taken: | 08.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2026 09:50 |
| Story ID: | 571728 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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