The Guthrie School Board voted to implement the use of Google Chromebooks to aid distance learning on Jan. 11.
The Chromebooks allow students to access all of their classroom materials online in the event that they are not able to learn in a physical classroom setting.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson said these Chromebooks will come in handy with winter threatening ice storms and snow days for the next few months.
“We’ve already done that on a couple of occasions,” Simpson said. “We’ve reclaimed two of our ice storm days during the Thanksgiving break, and we had one day that we transitioned to distance learning due to inclement weather.”
The school district has ordered 300 Chromebooks to start, and it has received approximately half of them so far.
The Guthrie School District already uses some Chromebooks in a physical classroom setting. Simpsons said that the district is confident in the plan, in part because the machines have been useful to teachers and students already in that capacity. “We have been also using some that are classroom machines in the interim with some of our students that don’t have computing devices at home to try and get them (up to speed), especially students that are on quarantine, so that they have an opportunity to keep up in class as well,” Simpson said.
The school board is offering a protection plan to parents in the event that their child’s Chromebook becomes damaged.
“We wanted to give parents an opportunity to have some semblance of protection for the machine that they’re going to receive if they choose to,” Simpson said. “Otherwise, if the machine is damaged, they will be liable for the entire cost of the repairs. This allows for the first incident that happens with the machine (to be) 100 percent covered, if you choose to participate in the protection plan, and it costs $25 per student. The second incident, we will charge the student or the parent 50 percent of the cost of the repair, and then the third incident will be full cost of the repair.”
Simpson said the school board will continue to utilize the Chromebooks after the pandemic is over.
“I don’t think distance learning is going away,” Simpson said. “I think snow days may go away, but yes, we will definitely explore those opportunities. That’s one of the things that I pledged to the board is that what we are learning through the pandemic, we want to leverage with our students and our community going forward as we come out of the pandemic.”
Those who do not have internet at home can still find ways to use the Chromebooks through the school district. Students can always stay at school and use their Chromebooks there to stay productive.
“Students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches can also get a hotspot for internet connectivity, and that is free of charge as well,” Simpson said. “We have also installed, at all of our schools, internet antennas outside so that in the event that we are closed, then students could come to the parking lot and could connect to our network if they don’t have connectivity at home.”