Jackson-Madison County School System began distributing laptops at its back-to-school orientations this week, with instruction is set to start by Sept. 4, depending on the school.
Unfortunately, some schools ran out of devices to distribute to students who needed them, and the 7,300 devices the district ordered have not arrived, Deputy Superintendent Ricky Catlett confirmed.
The 4,772 laptops JMCSS already had in schools across the district were to be distributed to students, regardless if they are doing distance learning, virtual or CyberSchool. The condition of the laptops varies as some are older, others don’t stay charged and some have cracked screens or missing keys.
The goal is to provide a working laptop until the new devices arrive.
“We’re working hard to make sure the devices we have on hand are working and are beneficial to students,” Catlett said.
But it was up to principals in what priority those laptops were given out; for example, schools could’ve organized device-pickup by grade level, by last name, by the option families chose for students or by families who signed up for a device.
Parents should reach out to their school with questions about technology, Catlett said.
Students who needed a device but were not provided one before their school ran out were put on a waiting list. If other schools have laptops remaining, the district will give them to schools who ran out.
Catlett said he’s received a tentative date for the new devices to arrive but doesn’t want to disclose it in case it changes, which is out of the district’s control.
“The thing that we’re up against is everybody in the country is waiting on devices, too,” he said. “We’re not the only district waiting on computers. We’re at the mercy of the distributor and deliverer.”
Until the devices arrive, students without access to a computer will use a paper packet. Some learning platforms may be compatible on a phone or tablet.
“When you have 12,700 students who are going virtual in some role, we’re going to be short,” Catlett said. “That doesn’t mean that students are going to completely miss out on their education."
Changes to the admin’s tech plans
The district ordered Chromebooks, which was a change from the district’s plan to purchase about 8,000 tablets for kindergarten through eighth grade and use the laptops for high schoolers.
The district changed the device to laptops/Chromebooks because the curriculum didn’t align with the tablets they were going to order, Catlett said.
Chromebooks are about $250 and the district allocated $2.3 million of CARES Act funding for devices, so the 7,300 JMCSS ordered costs more than $1.8 million. Gov. Bill Lee is providing $65 million in grant money for schools in Tennessee — $50 million to buy a third computer after a district purchases two and $15 million to help districts purchase WiFi hotspots for families, according to Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
Through a district survey and virtual and CyberSchool registration, families have answered whether they needed a device and whether they have available devices other than a phone.
According to Catlett, it’s unclear what the numbers are for students needing devices. The numbers changed because of the need for a laptop instead of a tablet and because students who chose in-person learning may need devices after switching to distance learning, which is the parent’s choice of paper packets or virtual learning, depending on the schools’ autonomy.
“The number (of students needing a device) has grown and when the number continues to grow, you’re going to run out of devices at schools,” Catlett said.
At least 500 students said they needed internet access, Catlett said. Thursday, the district received 500 hotspot devices to provide internet, but will order more. They ordered 300 from Verizon and T-Mobile and got 200 from Matt Marshall and United Way of West Tennessee.
The district plans to purchase hotspots from other carriers for areas where Verizon and T-Mobile don’t provide adequate internet access.
For areas of the county with no access, such as parts of Denmark and Mercer, the district said it would set up hotspots at nearby schools for families to drive to, according to Catlett at a July technology committee meeting.
Depending on the condition of the laptops already distributed, students may or may not receive a new Chromebook. Students who need devices and are on the waiting lists will have priority when Chromebooks are distributed.
Moving to 1-to-1
“It’s going to be a process to go to 1-to-1 for our district,” Catlett said.
Last year, the district’s tech committee decided to move away from the necessity of the 1-to-1 ratio of every student having a device, which was a concept sought under former Superintendent Verna Ruffin.
Financially, there wasn’t a way to ensure every student had a device, former Superintendent Eric Jones said last year, which is a reason the district was phasing it out.
Since the 2016-17 school year, the district has spent about $425,000 replacing computers.
To do a 1-to-1model, it would take an annual $5 million operational budget for tech, which is now about $1 million.
Last year, the district also starting leasing devices — 25 carts of devices for $150,000 each year. JMCSS is responsible for that funding even in fiscal years with budget uncertainty.
The district will order more Chromebooks to continue to move toward the 1-to-1 concept; that concept will require JMCSS to develop a plan on "the technology we want in the classroom, how we’re going to keep it fresh (up to date) and how to get there,” information technology operations manager Ashley Blair said.
“We want to get a computer in the hands of every child in our schools,” Catlett said. “This time next year, we’ll be a 1-to-1 school. We know how important it is to get devices in those students’ hands."
Lasherica Thornton is The Jackson Sun's education reporter. Reach her at 731-343-9133 or by email at lthornton@jacksonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LashericaT
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