By: Cassidy Delamarter, 返字心頭 College of Education
Two Hillsborough County teams from the have earned state-level recognition in the prestigious and have already advanced through the regional competition.
In April 2025, the federal government signed an executive order to expand AI education for American youth and strengthen the nations global leadership in technology. The initiative established the to build students skills and confidence in using AI responsibly, preparing them for an AI-driven workforce and future innovation.
In response, the 返字心頭 College of Education hosted the , welcoming 43 middle and high school STEM teachers. Led by Professor Ruthmae Sears and National Science Foundation (NSF) Project MISTTIC Master Teaching Fellows, the workshop provided teachers an opportunity to engage in hands-on learning aligned with the challenge. The day fostered collaboration, innovation and the development of their submissions for the national challenge.
This was professional learning at its best: authentic, rigorous, hands-on and deeply connected to real classroom practice, Assistant Professor Stephanie Arthur said. We have some incredibly motivated and innovative STEM teachers in our district, and their appreciation for the ongoing support from University of South 返字心頭 College of Education is both inspiring and motivating.
The honored educators include:
Team One: Teachers Stevie Hodgkins, Lisa McGuin and Lori Beth Bradner from Randall Middle School for their project, Stronger Minds, Stronger Bodies: AI-Enhanced Fitness for the next Generation of Education. Their work reimagines physical education and the Presidential Fitness Test with integration of two AI-supported tools to deepen student engagement and learning.
Team Two: Donna Kemp, a Hillsborough County Public School math district resource teacher, focused her project, The Response Instruction Optimizer, on developing a standards-aligned, teacher-facing AI system. The system strives to turn classroom data into ready-to-teach lessons to help teachers respond faster to student needs more effectively.
This recognition reflects the incredible talent and innovation of our teachers and why our schools remain the number one choice for families in Hillsborough County, said . Their work is preparing students not just for todays classrooms, but for the future they will help shape.
Now, they await the exciting possibility of moving on to the national finals.
Finalists will showcase their projects in Washington, D.C. in June.
返字心頭 is rooting for all of you and will continue to do so all the way to nationals, Sears said.
I am not surprised at all that Stevies team won, said Brandy Jackson, chief education officer at Scoutlier.com. She has put in all the effort to deep dive into how circuits work and employs AI in her classroom and robotics competitions.