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Overture Games Expands Paper-and-Pencil AI Classes to 38 Schools Amid Growing Demand for Youth AI Literacy
In a South Shore classroom, 8‑year‑old Matthew Uriosdegui used a pencil and a worksheet to draft a rap about an island party. His teacher, Dallas Godina, typed the notes into Suno, an AI music‑composition tool, and Matthew listened to several generated versions before choosing the one that felt right. The exercise is part of a 10‑week after‑school program run by Overture Games, a startup that has partnered with 36 schools in Illinois and 18 in Massachusetts, for a total of 38 sites.
Founded in 2022 by Northwestern University graduates Aspen Buckingham and Steven Jiang, Overture originally launched as an online music‑creation tool for children. As generative AI tools such as Google Gemini and Runway AI entered the market, the founders shifted focus to teaching AI literacy. The company’s curriculum relies on paper‑and‑pencil activities: students write prompts, teachers input them into a secure AI system, and the resulting audio, images or video are reviewed in class.
The program’s activities include “Real or AI,” a game that asks students to distinguish between photographs and AI‑generated images. In one session, Matthew examined a picture of a piano, noting that the presence of music notes on the sheet suggested a real photo. He was correct. The class also explores common AI errors—such as unrealistic body parts or lighting—and how misspellings in prompts can degrade output quality. Students report that these lessons have improved their spelling by an estimated 25 %.
Experts on AI education offer mixed views on Overture’s approach. Victor Lee, a Stanford professor who advises high‑school teachers on AI integration, said the program “may be missing the mark with its emphasis on teaching children how to direct AI by writing out statements.” Lee added that “prompting may not be the most important skill to learn.” In contrast, Elizabeth Radday of EdAdvance, a nonprofit that supports public schools, praised the hands‑on method. She noted that “there’s a big difference between kids that are doing things to create a final project, versus clicking through something and just watching videos.”
RAND Corporation research published in 2025 provides context for the program’s reach. The study found that more than 60 % of middle‑ and high‑school teachers in core subjects use AI, while only 42 % of elementary teachers have introduced AI in the classroom. RAND also reported that 43 % of low‑poverty districts have trained teachers on AI, compared with just 6 % of high‑poverty districts. The disparity highlights why after‑school programs like Overture’s are sought after in under‑resourced communities.
Devin Swift, who manages science and technology programming for Chicago Youth Centers, said the goal is “to make sure young people from the under‑resourced communities we serve have access.” He added that “AI is up and coming, and it’s important for young youth, especially Black and Brown youth, to know what it’s about.”
Parents of program participants generally support the initiative. Alice Raflores, a mother in Buffalo Grove, said she signed her second‑grader son up as soon as spots opened. She explained that her son had seen her use AI at work and wanted a safe, supervised way to learn. Maggie Wurzbach, a parent in Logan Square, noted that the class sparked her 10‑year‑old son’s curiosity about coding and AI, though she observed that the pencil‑based approach did not translate to his home computer use.
Overture’s classes are free for families in Chicago Youth Centers, but the 10‑week program costs about $300 and single‑day summer sessions are $120. The startup has built partnerships with 27 private schools, a figure that aligns with a 2025 College Board report showing that private high schools are more likely than public schools to provide AI tools.
As AI tools become more ubiquitous, Overture Games is expanding its network and refining its curriculum to address equity gaps identified by RAND. The company’s next steps include scaling to additional public schools and exploring new AI platforms beyond Suno. While the program has demonstrated tangible learning gains, questions remain about the depth of AI understanding students achieve and how best to integrate AI literacy into broader elementary curricula.
Founded in 2022 by Northwestern University graduates Aspen Buckingham and Steven Jiang, Overture originally launched as an online music‑creation tool for children. As generative AI tools such as Google Gemini and Runway AI entered the market, the founders shifted focus to teaching AI literacy. The company’s curriculum relies on paper‑and‑pencil activities: students write prompts, teachers input them into a secure AI system, and the resulting audio, images or video are reviewed in class.
The program’s activities include “Real or AI,” a game that asks students to distinguish between photographs and AI‑generated images. In one session, Matthew examined a picture of a piano, noting that the presence of music notes on the sheet suggested a real photo. He was correct. The class also explores common AI errors—such as unrealistic body parts or lighting—and how misspellings in prompts can degrade output quality. Students report that these lessons have improved their spelling by an estimated 25 %.
Experts on AI education offer mixed views on Overture’s approach. Victor Lee, a Stanford professor who advises high‑school teachers on AI integration, said the program “may be missing the mark with its emphasis on teaching children how to direct AI by writing out statements.” Lee added that “prompting may not be the most important skill to learn.” In contrast, Elizabeth Radday of EdAdvance, a nonprofit that supports public schools, praised the hands‑on method. She noted that “there’s a big difference between kids that are doing things to create a final project, versus clicking through something and just watching videos.”
RAND Corporation research published in 2025 provides context for the program’s reach. The study found that more than 60 % of middle‑ and high‑school teachers in core subjects use AI, while only 42 % of elementary teachers have introduced AI in the classroom. RAND also reported that 43 % of low‑poverty districts have trained teachers on AI, compared with just 6 % of high‑poverty districts. The disparity highlights why after‑school programs like Overture’s are sought after in under‑resourced communities.
Devin Swift, who manages science and technology programming for Chicago Youth Centers, said the goal is “to make sure young people from the under‑resourced communities we serve have access.” He added that “AI is up and coming, and it’s important for young youth, especially Black and Brown youth, to know what it’s about.”
Parents of program participants generally support the initiative. Alice Raflores, a mother in Buffalo Grove, said she signed her second‑grader son up as soon as spots opened. She explained that her son had seen her use AI at work and wanted a safe, supervised way to learn. Maggie Wurzbach, a parent in Logan Square, noted that the class sparked her 10‑year‑old son’s curiosity about coding and AI, though she observed that the pencil‑based approach did not translate to his home computer use.
Overture’s classes are free for families in Chicago Youth Centers, but the 10‑week program costs about $300 and single‑day summer sessions are $120. The startup has built partnerships with 27 private schools, a figure that aligns with a 2025 College Board report showing that private high schools are more likely than public schools to provide AI tools.
As AI tools become more ubiquitous, Overture Games is expanding its network and refining its curriculum to address equity gaps identified by RAND. The company’s next steps include scaling to additional public schools and exploring new AI platforms beyond Suno. While the program has demonstrated tangible learning gains, questions remain about the depth of AI understanding students achieve and how best to integrate AI literacy into broader elementary curricula.
