The Class of 2026 moved through its four years of high school much like any other. The nervous freshmen turned into self-assured sophomores. This group of students transitioned into their junior and senior years finding its way, exploring interests, and developing a plan for life after public education.
The Montana high school diploma consists of 20 credits across a range of subject areas. The Administrative Rules of Montana govern the requirements for a high school diploma, and local school districts refine and add to them. Kalispell Public Schools sets a 22 credit diploma requirement for graduation, with four years of English, three years of Math, two years of Science, two-and-a-half years of Social Studies, Physical Education, Health, Personal Finance, Fine Arts, and Career and Technical Education requirements, plus electives. This well-rounded education ensures that students graduate with basic skills and knowledge for adult life.
The Class of 2026 began its high school journey before artificial intelligence emerged and grew to greatly impact the world. Between the Class of 2026’s 9th grade year and its 12th grade year, artificial intelligence exploded and became a way for students to circumvent thinking. Educators scrambled to adjust, and now we do more in-class, handwritten work to ensure authenticity. We pay close attention to student writing and computation processes, looking for evidence of thinking. AI changed the way we teach.
The impact on students, though, is also significant. Our graduates move on into adulthood knowing the tool of AI is there, but our goal is to ensure they know how to use it appropriately and enhance, not replace thinking and learning. It is one more huge shift in technology, much like we experienced in the mid 1990s with internet access, and then in the early 2000s, with search engines such as Google. Educators had concerns with each of these shifts, but the recent emergence and development of AI is something else entirely. The enticement of the easy path using AI is something graduates must consider and decide how much use is right. Our lessons on fair and ethical use suddenly become incredibly important, as do our emphases on teaching resilience and personal accountability.
This year’s graduates have to navigate a world where rapidly changing workforces fueled by AI innovations will likely morph careers and job opportunities into something we can’t even imagine. For them, this world is “normal” and finding their path with confidence and adaptability is just part of their journey through adulthood. The Class of 2026’s sense of personal and civic responsibility is strong, and I’m confident these young adults will apply the basic knowledge and skills of a high school diploma in new ways that fit the world around them.
As a high school principal, I’ve seen thousands of students exit into the world of adulthood. For the Class of 2026, the world they enter as graduates is much different from the world in which they entered high school. More so than any other graduating class of mine thus far. However, I know they will thrive and embrace the challenge of an uncertain future. As always, I’m grateful for the support in the Flathead High School and greater Kalispell community for public education.
Michele Paine is the Principal at Flathead High School.