In the sleepy community of Zanesville, Ohio, where pottery factories and generational poverty have long defined the landscape, Lanae McInturf is reimagining education as a powerful catalyst for transformation.
Standing in the same school building where she once walked as a student, she now teaches math to sixth through eighth graders at Foxfire School - an institution dedicated to serving at-risk students from surrounding communities.
But McInturf isn't just teaching math. She's teaching resilience, critical thinking, and the potential for change.
Her philosophy goes far beyond traditional teaching methods. Where many educators see math as a series of right and wrong answers, McInturf sees an opportunity to develop students' problem-solving skills and confidence. She understands that students often become discouraged when they get a "wrong" answer, which can shut down their willingness to learn.
Enter artificial intelligence—an essential part of AI in education—that McInturf sees not as a replacement for human teaching, but as a powerful amplifier of educational potential.
McInturf became deeply immersed in AI after attending a workshop led by AI Owl in the Fall of 2024. She now estimates that up to 40 percent of her teaching practice relies on using AI tools.
Through AI, she can now customize learning experiences for each student with unprecedented precision. When a student struggles with ratios, she can instantly generate targeted lessons that meet that specific learner's needs.
And she uses AI tools in numerous other ways, including:
Creating rewards for students.
Generating stickers from our school and with students' names on them.
Developing coloring pages with students’ names in the page.
Building classroom rules posters.
Creating AI-generated images and using Canva to change the wording or erasing and adding items to the picture.
Developing math questions
Generating vocabulary lists.
Writing letters home to parents about a variety of topics.
"We're not just teaching content," she explains. "We're teaching students how to think, how to approach challenges, how to be resilient."
Her vision extends beyond the classroom. McInturf sees AI and technology as key catalysts for uplifting entire communities. In Zanesville, where economic opportunities have been limited, she believes education and technological literacy can break cycles of generational poverty. By teaching students not just to consume technology, but to understand and leverage it responsibly, she's preparing them to become architects of their own futures.
Her approach is radical in its simplicity: meet students where they are, address their true needs, and empower them with the skills to navigate an increasingly complex world. She's not just teaching math - she's teaching possibility.
As Intel moves into a nearby city and new opportunities emerge, McInturf is preparing her students to be ready. She's cultivating a generation of critical thinkers who understand that learning isn't about getting the right answer, but about understanding how to find it.
In the midst of a community waiting for transformation, Lanae McInturf is quietly revolutionary - one math lesson at a time.
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