Storybook project brings student imagination to life in Wichita

At Circle Greenwich Elementary, AI isn’t a distant concept or a technical hurdle — it has become a spark for creativity, connection, and joy. Through their work with the Center for Reimagining Education (CRE), teachers and students found an engaging way to explore technology together by creating their own storybooks with the help of AI. 

Each month, cross‑grade teams of students gathered with teachers to imagine characters, create prompts, and build pages for a collaborative book. Every student contributed a page that reflected their personality and interests, turning the project into a celebration of shared creativity that empowered students as leaders. 

Fourth‑grade teacher Devin Martinez, who led the project, sees AI as a tool to transform traditional classroom models and an essential part of his students’ future. He wanted them to explore it with curiosity instead of fear. The project delivered exactly that: students incorporated silly voices, revised prompts when they didn’t like the output, and experimented freely as they learned what makes a good prompt. 

Even for teachers, this was a low-stress project. Martinez said that, despite everything on educators’ plates, this experience offered an entry point into a tool that can feel overwhelming. 

“It feels freeing and like something that's going to be making the future of education brighter, so it has been nice to have that experience with CRE,” Martinez said.

To make the project accessible for all teachers, Martinez used Gemini to build a simple app where students could input their prompts with embedded instruction. This reduced the learning curve and made the project feel doable for educators across the school.

Now, Circle Greenwich Elementary is preparing to publish all 31 student-created books, with support from community sponsors. Soon, students will find their creations in the school library, and families will be able to bring copies home as keepsakes. 

Circle Greenwich Elementary is one of many schools across Kansas participating in the CRE cohort, a community dedicated to reimagining education through a Three Lens Framework of true transformation, student involvement, and starting small to grow big.