JEFFERSON PARISH, La. —
Students at Shirley T. Johnson Gretna Park Elementary are reading with a robot. The artificial intelligence-powered reading tutor, called Amira, is designed to listen, assess, and help students strengthen reading skills.
Ten-year-old Stefalanta Sara enrolled in Amira to learn English. Now, her English is strong enough to help other students.
“My first language was Haitian Creole,” said Sara. “I tried to learn it many different type of ways, but my teacher found Amira for me.”
Data shows the program Amira is improving literacy. Last year, at Johnson Gretna Park, proficiency among Amira students grew by 43 percent.
“We still have a long ways to go,” said Principal Michelle Montagnio. “They speak more, they listen more, they are able to give themselves and their peer feedback.”
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, 125,000 Louisiana students used Amira during the 2025-2026 school year. State data reports that students using Amira show 28% extra growth versus a typical year’s growth.
Amira is one of the first ways the Louisiana Department of Education is introducing AI in schools. Superintendent Cade Brumley says student data privacy is protected and jobs are secure.
“I don’t think we will ever get to a place where a robot replaces a teacher, absolutely not. But what we can do is use platforms for tutoring support, lesson planning support, assessment support,” he said.
At Johnson Gretna Park, teachers still lead the class. Ms. Darlleny Santos says Amira helps with her workload. She says students are learning faster with the program.
“They are more confident to speak to the microphone. Because they just talking with the app and they are ready to speak with somebody else,” said Santos.
The state provides school districts with updated AI guidance. School systems are required to vet AI products through a rubric considering: data protection, instructional integrity, product usability, educator support and system-level oversight.
Amira is funded using federal grant dollars.