The California Teacher of the Year who turned ChatGPT into a writing coach
His students were already using ChatGPT for everything, so Casey Cuny rebuilt his English class around a routine that makes the chatbot argue with them instead of write for them.
The story
The person and the place
Casey Cuny teaches 10th-grade Honors English and a senior mythology elective at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, California. In 2024, the state named him California Teacher of the Year.
The problem he cared about
His students were already using ChatGPT, and mostly not to learn. "The cheating is off the charts. I do have major worries about that," he told K-12 Dive, adding that "some teachers are a little head-in-the-sand about it, not even realizing how much kids are using it." He wanted the thinking back in the room.
The agency moment
Instead of banning the tool, he redesigned the work around it. Students prompt ChatGPT to quiz them on a text, twenty questions, one at a time. Before an essay, they argue their position back and forth with the chatbot, then close the laptops and keep arguing out loud. One analog lock stays in place: "Then, I have them hand-write the thesis, so I know they wrote it."
The moment that sticks came from a senior who admitted he had used ChatGPT for three years of schoolwork, then looked up from an in-class piece and said, "Low-key, Mr. Cuny, this is the first thing I've written in three years."
"It bolsters critical thinking, engagement and personalization in ways we could never do before." — Casey Cuny, K-12 Dive
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Sources last verified July 24, 2026.