The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Students get new laptop computers
Distribution coming for middle schools
New hardware is counted among the school supplies this year in Lorain City Schools.
The school district began distributing new laptop computers for students in grades six to 12.
Ninth graders received the computers starting Aug. 27 and most, if not all, high school students were to get the new gear by Aug. 30.
“Families and scholars have been coming in droves to come get their technology,” said Lorain Schools CEO David Hardy Jr.
Some of the students hold onto the computers like a gem in their hands, Hardy said.
“It’s been a very, very joyful experience for our kids, and we’re excited to equip them with the resources that are necessary for them to compete globally,” he said. “It’s no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have in so many ways, and so we’re glad that our kids are getting what they need.”
The purchase was budgeted in
the last school year to get the one-to-one computer program up and running for the 2018-19 school year.
The school district budgeted more than $1.12 million to spend on computer equipment for instruction, said Joshua Hill, chief of strategy and innovation and district treasurer for Lorain Schools.
There have been some rushes when the computer pickup sessions begin in the afternoon at the Lorain High School Performing Arts Center.
Some students called their parents by cell phone to hurry them along to the school, Hardy said.
“I kid you not, at 2:30, you would have thought Jay-Z and Beyonce were in that auditorium,” he said with a laugh.
“It’s been kind of exciting to see.”
On Aug. 30, there was a steady stream of 12th graders picking up the computers.
At the Performing Arts Center, a policy and procedure manual packet was given to each parents and student which outlines ownership expectations, proper maintenance and usage, internet privacy and safety and responsibilities and rules for students to follow.
A video reviewing the procedure manual given out to parents and students was playing during the laptop distribution.
An agreement form is to be filled out by both parents and students confirming that the video was viewed and the manual was read.
Although seventh-grader Elyssa Myrick of Lorain won’t receive her laptop until Sept. 5, she said that she’s excited that “we actually have our own computers.”
Elyssa said that her previous classes required students to memorize the numbers of their assigned laptops, only to be used during school hours.
“They had to give us numbers, and then we had
to remember it for every classroom,” she said. “There was (sic) different numbers for every classroom.”
Elyssa’s mother, Carli Ward, 35, said the laptops will help better communication with teachers.
“I think it’s awesome,” Ward said. “We’re actually gonna have these at home to use for homework and, you know, be able to better communicate with the teachers. And they’re brand new.”
However, the new technology also comes with new responsibility, Ward said.
“The only concern I have is them being brand new and the kids being responsible for them,” she said. “They’re expensive.
“We’ll try to keep them where they’re supposed to be: at school and at home, that’s it.”
The one-to-one ratio of students and computers is a wonderful opportunity, said Ivy Dodd, aunt to Lorain High senior Kyara Riggins, an honor student who is considering attending Ashland University.
“It’s very important for the students to really be able to have that technology, to be technology savvy,” Kyara said.
“Moving forward, most of the education now, or most of the jobs, have to do with technology.”
The program is especially important for students who do not have computers at home, Dodd added.
Kyara and other students without computers at home sometimes would use library computers to check on class assignments and do research.
Distribution is scheduled to continue for grades six, seven and eight in the first week of September.
A makeup day is scheduled for any students who missed their first chance. The schedule is: Sept. 4, for sixth-grade Sept. 5, for seventh-grade Sept. 6, for eighth-grade The distribution time runs from 2:30-5:30 p.m. at the Lorain High School Performing Arts Center, 2600 Ashland Ave.
The makeup day is 9 a.m. to noon, Sept. 8.