The Salamanca City Central School District, located on Seneca Nation territory in upstate New York, is set to become one of the first in the U.S. to integrate a humanoid robot into its classrooms. The AI-powered robot, named "Sally," will be introduced in high school classes in September as a teaching assistant.
Sally, a $57,000 model from Realbotix Corporation, is designed with brown hair and latex skin. While she can move her arms and hands, her legs are not mobile, meaning she will remain seated. The robot is customized with a Western New York accent to enhance approachability. "It's exciting but also a bit nerve-wracking," said Superintendent Dr. Mark Beehler. "Not everyone is open to much change in education... This is the next iteration of that. And the reality is, AI is already in schools."
The pilot program will initially place Sally in 11th and 12th-grade classes at Salamanca High School, focusing on coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence courses. These subjects are part of the Woz Ed Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics curriculum, developed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
School officials emphasized that Sally is intended to be an instructional tool, not a replacement for human educators. "The Realbotix educational robot will never replace teachers, staff members, or meaningful human interaction," the district stated. "Instead, it serves as another instructional tool that educators can use to engage students, reinforce classroom learning, and spark curiosity about emerging technologies."
Sally operates on an offline, closed AI system designed to provide data and prompts rather than direct answers, encouraging students to think critically. The district assured that the robot will not collect personal information, record audio or video, or transmit any data externally to Realbotix. The school district has approximately 1,400 students, with over 32% identifying as American Indian.