Charleroi students discuss effects of AI on education

The high school hosted the Western Pa. AI Summit on Monday.

At Charleroi Area High School on Monday, the future of education didn’t just take the stage — it spoke for itself.

The 2025 Western Pennsylvania AI Summit, a full day of learning, collaboration and innovation around artificial intelligence in education, brought together more than 50 district leaders, educators and industry partners.

The session that lingered most with attendees wasn’t led by an expert or a keynote speaker — it was done by four high school students.

‘The Human Side of AI’

As the day wound down, moderator Candice Sears welcomed a panel of Charleroi Area seniors — Shennen Dzurinko, Janie Dzurinko, Chelsie Dzurinko and Lita Zelinsky — to close out the summit with an open conversation about the role of AI in their lives.

“Their questioning, their answers, their intrigue, their hesitation — so powerful,” Sears told the audience. “That’s the most important thing that we take out again. … This is definitely the highlight of the day, for sure.”

The students’ one-word descriptions of AI — “conflicted,” “agitating,” “anxious” and “apprehensive” — set the tone for an honest and often striking dialogue.

Technology, they said, is woven into every part of daily life — from Google Classroom to social media — but it also leaves them feeling “drained” and disconnected at times.

“I find it very valuable, or sometimes it’s just too much,” said Shennen Dzurinko. “After using it for a while, I can feel so drained … Sometimes I think it’s better just to go out in the world and talk or do your own research, like read a book.”

Zelinsky shared that she still prefers pen and paper: “With technology, there’s so many more mistakes that can happen rather than if you do it yourself.”

Balancing curiosity and concern

The students voiced both excitement and unease about AI’s reach.

Shennen Dzurinko called its accessibility “very exciting,” but warned that classmates who rely on AI for homework risk “mentally declining” because “they’re not really getting those mental functions that are necessary.”

Chelsie Dzurinko added, “It’s very important to distinguish the line of where does technology end and human connection begin.”

When Sears asked about the human element, Chelsie Dzurinko didn’t hesitate: “Our sole purpose for existing just as humans is that human connection. … Computers do not replace that. It’s just cold machinery.”

Janie Dzurinko agreed: “There’s a beauty in human connections that AI can’t or technology can’t replicate.” And Shennen Dzurinko pointed to what unsettles her most.

“It’s really terrifying, like sad to me, that people feel like they have to resort to (AI) to feel connection,” she said.

Their conversation — honest, thoughtful and deeply human — gave the day’s discussions on innovation and policy a tangible heartbeat.

Local leadership looks ahead

Charleroi Area Superintendent Dr. Ed Zelich said the district is taking lessons from the summit to shape local strategy.

“Right now the use of AI is fractured,” Zelich said. “There has not been a lot of guidance, so we are trying to learn, dip our feet in and get on board despite things changing so quickly. That’s why bringing these national partners in here has been so exponentially helpful.”

He added that the district plans to create a task force to develop AI policies and procedures — and AI literacy courses are already being planned for next school year.

“This will help us embrace AI while creating guide rails for students, parents and teachers,” he said. “We will begin to create a task force … and ultimately learn how to use and leverage AI tools for the good.”

Keith Hartbauer, former superintendent and founder of Educational Leadership Strategies, said the goal is to make innovation local.

“We want to bring things back here they didn’t have an opportunity to know or see,” Hartbauer said. “If it benefits kids, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

Brett Roer, CEO and founder of Amplify & Elevate Innovation, echoed that vision, emphasizing the need for direction amid experimentation.

“Everyone is playing with no rules,” Roer said. “What we are passionate about is helping to bring policy and hoping to spread it.”

For Sears, who also helped coordinate the event, the takeaway is clear.

“For me the big piece is how to ensure our students are future ready,” she said. “This generation is going to live in a different world than us. We’re creating an experience to equip teachers with confidence and support to allow student voice to emerge — like we did today.”

That alignment between education and the evolving digital world, Sears said, will require a mindset shift for teachers as well.

“Teachers have been trained to be the expert in everything,” she said. “We don’t need to be the experts. How do we make sure they have the skills to facilitate without the pressure to know?”

Learning and listening

Earlier in the summit, Amanda Bickerstaff, co-founder and CEO of AI for Education, delivered the keynote address, exploring how AI can enhance — not replace — human creativity and connection in education. Attendees then joined breakout sessions like AI for Absolute Beginners, Building Learning Chatbots and The Social Impact of AI, before returning to the auditorium for the student discussion.

Sponsors for the summit included Magma Math, Centegix, Brisk Teaching, Interpeak AI and Student AI, whose displays lined the school’s main walkway.

By the time the day closed, what stood out most wasn’t the software or the systems, but the sincerity of four Charleroi seniors asking hard questions about what it means to stay human in an AI-driven world.

As Chelsie Dzurinko told the crowd, “We really need to integrate it as a learning tool and separate ourselves time for me to take over and do what this computer is doing for myself. You need to work hand in hand, do it as a partnership — not necessarily like an employee underneath that.”

And with that, the summit ended not on the promise of machines, but on the wisdom of its students.