Several Hudson Valley school districts, including Peekskill, Somers, Haldane, Putnam Valley, Carmel, Brewster, Beacon, and Dobbs Ferry, started the new school year Tuesday.

On the first day of school in Mamaroneck, students were greeted with changes for the academic year, featuring new facilities and innovative programs aimed at addressing pressing challenges for young people.

The district has made substantial investments in STEM and culinary studies across all schools. Administrators are emphasizing the importance of media literacy, a course designed to tackle modern-day issues like identifying bias, recognizing misinformation, and detecting falsehoods.

Katie Gill, a senior at Mamaroneck High School, underscores the significance of media literacy.

"It's important to know what's fake, what's biased, and what's real because that's our way of learning now, as everything is readily available on the internet," she said.

Going a step further, Superintendent Robert Shaps and administrators spent the summer exploring the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education. While some districts ban the use of chatbots like ChatGPT, Mamaroneck staff actively engage with AI, seeking its potential positive impact on education.

"We need to adapt and understand and balance the moral, ethical use of AI,” said Shaps. “How it's going to serve and help them individually, but also teachers need to understand the parameters around it and how we introduce AI in our classrooms and learning."