Does the school still offer the Best Buy BYOD $100 Voucher?
No. The school district has made the decision to move away from the previous BYOD initiative and moved to a 1:1 device model with Chromebooks for students in grade 2-12.
Will the Chromebooks stay at school each night?
No. All students grades 7-12 will have the ability to take it home every day.
How long will my student get to keep their Chromebook?
Moving forward, each student entering 5th grade and 9th grade will get a new device. That means that 5th graders will have their device until the end of 8th grade and will turn them in at the end of each year. They will then receive a new device in 9th grade and keep it until the end of 12th grade and will turn them in at the end of each year.
Can I buy the Chromebook(s) my child(ren) will be using outright?
No. The student's Chromebook is then not owned by the school district in this case and issues will be run into with maintenance which will affect state testing (which is performed on Chromebooks). Insurance would also not be able to be taken out on the device.
What will happen to the Chromebooks taken out of rotation?
A majority of them will go to be used at our elementary school.
Will there be help available during school hours if my child has an issue with their Chromebook?
Yes. A help desk is available in the High School Media Center and the PC lab.
What if we can’t afford the insurance?
If you wish to take out insurance but cannot afford the full price, please contact the secondary school principal.
Do I have to get the insurance?
No, but the replacement cost is $250.
What does the insurance cover exactly?
Any accidental or mechanical issues, except accidents involving liquid spills.
Can I purchase the insurance during the school year?
No. Insurance will only be able to be purchased during the time period starting with registration and going through the day before device distribution. If you enroll your child into the school district during the school year, you will have one week to purchase the insurance if you so choose to do so.
What if my child already has their own device?
Students will not be allowed to bring in a personal device.
Do we have the bandwidth necessary?
Yes. Our networking infrastructure has also recently been upgraded to support the additional devices as part of this initiative. We also have an Internet bandwidth of 1 gigabit per second to ensure all academic tools being used have the speed they need.
Will the devices be filtered?
Yes, everything on the Chromebook is filtered to CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act) standards.
What if I don’t have Internet at home?
Nearly all of the material can be accessed offline. The student downloads the file at school before the end of the day and is able to use it in the same way as being online. Chromebooks also sync Google Drive files so anything in a student's Google Drive is available offline. Common areas at the secondary building are also covered by our wireless that can be accessed after school releases. There are also free Wi-Fi hotspots available around the city or your student can check out a Kajeet SmartSpot device from the HS Media Center. Please click here to learn more.
How will they get charged?
Students will be required to come to school each day with the device fully charged. Chargers will not be encouraged at school as they get lost and left behind too frequently and spare chargers are around $50. The battery life will easily make it through a school day.
Theft Issues
All Chromebooks have an administrative function called "brick mode" which completely locks a device until we unlock it again. If a Chromebook goes missing, students will report it to us and we will put it in "brick mode" until we recover the device. This nearly eliminates all issues with theft because the device is no longer worth anything and is rendered useless. There is also less chance of theft as each student has the same device.