CHS Technology Going 1:1 in January
Technology has changed the way we live and learn. Come January, Clearwater High School will implement 1-to-1 technology. Superintendent Deborah Hand made the announcement Monday evening at the Board of Education meeting.
Every high school student will be issued a Chromebook. Before students receive the technology, the student and parent will have to attend a meeting/training session. Letters will be sent out in the near future to every high school parent that will give a date and time they are to attend the Jan. 3 training/information session.
At the end of the session, families will be required to pay a usage fee and then sign a usage agreement. The school has set a $30 annual fee; because the technology is being introduced midyear, the initial user fee will be $15. The agreement outlines a fee system if the device is accidentally damaged. Students then will be issued a Chromebook that the student will use for the remainder of the school year. If a device is intentionally damaged, it will be up to the student and parents to pay for the damage, according to Hand.
Students will be issued a computer they will use for the remainder of the school year. At the end of the term, the Chromebooks will be collected.
Several schools in the area are currently using 1:1 technology. When developing the plan, school officials visited many schools and discussed how technology was implemented in those districts.
Hand said that the high school will be a pilot program this year. Officials hope to implement 1:1 technology at the middle school next year.
Security protocols are in place. It will alert the school if a student is doing inappropriate things on the device. Hand said that parents and students need to remember that these devices are school property and anything that is created on the devices is school property.
“We’re really excited about this,” Hand said.
If a student does not have internet access at home, this will not prevent them from utilizing them for assignments. Students will be able to do assignments while working offline. They can also download material needed at school in order to do their work at home.
The 1:1 technology have taken five years from concept to implementation. This is much longer than school officials originally expected. The community has supported this project. The Clearwater School Foundation, the Clearwater Alumni Association, Wayne Lodge, and many other individuals and organizations have recognized the need and donated funds for this project.
