GOWANDA — All students in Gowanda Central School could have some kind of personal technology device in their hands next school year.
The district currently has a one-to-one system — one device for every student — for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. School officials are looking to expand the program into the high school this September.
A plan developed by the district technology committee was presented to the school board Jan. 4 by Paula Troutman, director of curriculum and assessment.
The committee recommended the district purchase an additional 550 Chromebooks, which are Google’s branded laptops, at a cost of $151,250. Licensing for Google Chrome, along with cases for each device and 200 extra chargers, would bring the cost up to $188,500.
That money would be reimbursed through the $1.55 million the Gowanda Central School District received through the Smart Schools Bond Act, a state initiative that authorized more than $2 billion bonds to school districts for technology upgrades.
In addition, the technology committee recommended the district take steps toward iPad replacement at the elementary level by purchasing 120 iPads — along with 120 cases — for $55,200.
The total cost of the proposed technology upgrades is $243,700. Troutman said the plan will be posted on the school’s website, and the public will have the opportunity to comment and offer suggestions at an upcoming board meeting, likely in mid-February.
“We really feel like technology can foster differentiation, critical thinking and allow for more effective communication and collaboration among our students, students to teachers (and) parents to teachers,” Troutman said.
The district had already started putting technology in students’ hands. It purchased iPads for students to use in elementary school and Chromebooks in the middle school that are being used this year.
Troutman said iPads currently used in the fifth grade will be given to the elementary grades next year and will be replaced by Chromebooks to be more uniform with the middle school.
“The nice thing is that we have the iPads in the elementary school and Chromebooks in middle school and high school,” said Jim Klubek, district superintendent. “They will be subjected to different platforms as well so they won’t be stuck with learning how to use one device and not both. It expands students’ opportunities to use other devices.”
Troutman pointed out the district has not only purchased devices for students to use in the classroom but also invested in taking advantage of the technology by making some of the district’s technology integration specialists to work in classrooms alongside instructors.
At the school board’s meeting in December, Candace Phillips, one of the specialists, gave an update to the board on the inclusion of technology in classrooms.
She said students are “increasingly using them,” and everyone in the middle school “has embraced the technology more than I thought they would.”
Last week, Troutman said a decision has not yet been made by the committee allowing students to take the devices home. The next step for the committee is to contact schools already allowing students to take devices home and bring it back to the board for further input, she added.
Obstacles standing in the way of students taking the devices home include insurance, paperwork, liability concerns and connectivity, Klubek said.
Projects the school decides to execute as part of Smart Schools must be preapproved by the state and fit into one of six categories, including broadband Wi-Fi, classroom technology devices, high-tech security, transportable classrooms, upgrading prekindergarten classrooms and community connectivity.
Districts must also prove that any projects are sustainable — meaning it can afford to update and provide maintenance on the projects even after being reimbursed.
The public should be able to weigh in at Feb. 18’s board meeting, Klubek said, after changes are made by the committee based on feedback from the board.
