# Pondra: the AI built for schools

> Pondra is an AI assistant built for K–12 schools: students get help in any subject, and it guides them with questions and hints instead of giving the answer, with safety filters and reporting for schools.

Source: https://pondra.ai. This file is the full text of the site in Markdown.

An AI assistant for every student, with guardrails made for school. It helps with any subject and never hands over the answer.

Examples of how Pondra replies:

- Math, "Solve 2x + 6 = 14": "I won't hand you the answer, but you can get there in two steps. What's keeping x from being on its own?"
- Writing: "I won't rewrite it for you, but I'll help you make it stronger. Read me your first sentence. What do you want the reader to feel?"
- Science: "Let's build it together. What do you think a plant needs to make its own food? Name three things."
- History: "That's a choice only you can make, but I can help you get there. Which cause of the war do you find most convincing, and why?"

## Why now: AI is doing the thinking for your students.

Seven in ten teens use AI for schoolwork, and general chatbots just hand them the answer. Their homework looks better. What they actually learn gets worse.

- After 26,811 students in grades 7–12 started using AI, their homework scores went up 18% and their time spent on homework fell 30%, but their monthly exam scores fell 20% within six months. High school and college entrance-exam scores fell 18–24% after about two years. Source: [Strömberg, Lei & Wu, CEPR working paper, 2026](https://cepr.org/publications/dp21577).
- −17%: lower exam scores for high schoolers who practiced math with a ChatGPT-style chatbot. With a hints-only AI tutor, scores held steady. Source: [PNAS, 2025](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422633122).
- 67% of students say the more they use AI for schoolwork, the more it will harm their critical thinking. Source: [RAND, 2026](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4742-1.html).
- 83% of people who wrote an essay with ChatGPT couldn't correctly quote it minutes later, versus 11% without AI. Source: [MIT Media Lab, 2025 (preprint)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872).
- 70% of U.S. teens use AI for schoolwork. Source: [Common Sense Media, 2026](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/commonsensemedia_teensaischoolworkskills_2026.pdf).

Pondra is AI that makes students think for themselves.

## The tutor: same question, opposite outcome

A chatbot does the work for them. Pondra helps them do it themselves.

- Any general AI chatbot, asked "Solve 2x + 6 = 14", replies: "Subtract 6 from both sides, then divide by 2. x = 4." The student learned how to copy.
- Pondra, asked the same question, replies: "What's being done to x, and what would undo it?" The student answers "take 6 from both sides?" The student learned how to solve it.

## Safety: safe for kids, reporting for schools

Violence, bullying and other unsafe requests are blocked. Your school gets clear reports on how students are using it.

FERPA compliant and aligned with COPPA. Student data never trains AI models. No ads, ever.

## Rollout: we set it up with you

No AI expertise needed on your staff. We handle the plan and the launch.

1. Plan: set your AI policy and safety settings with us.
2. Launch: students sign in with the tools you already use.
3. Report: usage and safety reports every term.

## FAQ

### What is Pondra?

Pondra is an AI assistant built for K–12 schools. Students can ask it for help in any subject, and it guides them with questions and hints instead of giving the answer. Schools get safety filters, usage reports and hands-on help rolling it out.

### We don't have an AI plan yet. Where do we start?

That's where most schools are. We start from a policy template, help you choose safety settings. You don't need an AI specialist on staff.

### Does Pondra ever just give students the answer?

No. It asks questions, gives hints and can work a similar example, but it never hands over the final answer, on any setting.

### How is Pondra different from ChatGPT?

General chatbots like ChatGPT will do the work for a student. Pondra is built for school: it helps students work the problem out themselves, blocks unsafe topics, keeps student data out of AI training and gives your school reports on how students use it.

### What happens if a student asks about something unsafe?

Requests involving violence, sexual content, hate, drugs or bullying are declined and redirected to learning.

### Is student data used to train AI?

Never. Student data is not sold, not used for ads and not used to train AI models.

### How much does it cost?

We offer plans for individual schools. Book a demo and we'll put together pricing for yours.

## Book a demo

We'll walk you through Pondra in a 30-minute call: https://pondra.ai/#demo