A Northern Virginia high school is backing out of a plan to use an artificial intelligence program to pronounce student names during graduation, a reversal that comes after pushback from students and their families.
Late last month, local news site ARL Now first reported that Washington-Liberty High School planned to partner with Tassel to ensure students’ names are pronounced correctly during graduation. Principal Alexander Duncan III told families that too frequently, names are mispronounced during commencement ceremonies.
But now, a spokeswoman for Arlington Public Schools said the high school isn’t considering using Tassel anymore, “following feedback from students who expressed a preference for having their names read by a familiar voice.”
“Our focus remains on creating a meaningful experience that reflects what matters most to our students while also ensuring names are read accurately and respectfully,” spokeswoman Christina Arpante told WTOP in a statement.
Schools using the Tassel platform have students share their name during the registration process, according to Tassel’s website. Then, the tech creates three variations of the student’s name pronunciation. If they’re all incorrect, students can submit a voice recording of their name, and a voice artist will record it.
The tech, Arpante said, “was initially discussed earlier this year as one operational option to support pronunciation accuracy and efficiency during a large-scale graduation ceremony.”
But the decision not to use it came after students shared feedback “about the importance of the personal nature of graduation and their preference for names to be read by a staff member,” the statement said.
At a recent school board meeting, June Prakash, who said she has a high schooler who will be a senior next year, said graduation “is one of those most meaningful moments in a student’s academic journey. It’s a moment where their name spoken aloud recognizes years of effort, growth and identity. Turning that moment into an AI moment makes this feel standardized, impersonal, rather than authentic and human.”
Washington-Liberty’s graduation ceremony is scheduled for June 13 at EagleBank Arena.
Neither Fairfax County Public Schools nor Prince William County Public Schools say they’re considering AI software to read students’ names during graduation ceremonies.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
