Chromebooks for every middle-schooler proposed; School Committee balks at cost

SOMERSET — The administration of the Somerset Public Schools proposed funding in the budget to issue Chromebooks to every student at Somerset Middle School for the next school year, but in order to save some money, the Somerset School Committee has asked to implement the one-to-one technology initiative, as it is called, for just students in the eighth grade.

Lindsey Albernaz, the director of business and finance for the schools, said if 650 Chromebooks were leased to own for the three grades, the cost would be $70,000 per year and a full-time technician would need to be hired to service them. She said if the one-to-one initiative was implemented for just the eighth grade, the cost would be $60,000 a year for the devices and a part-time technician would need to be hired to service them. Albernaz said it would cost $60,000 for the salary of a full-time technician. The part-time technician that is proposed is for a .4 time employee.

School Committee Chair Melissa Terra said she would like to see the eighth grade be successful with the one-to-one initiative first and then start it in the other grades at the middle school. Terra said that after starting the one-to-one initiative with the eighth grade, the school can learn from it before implementing it in the seventh and eighth grade. Terra said they need to start small with the one-to-one initiative at the middle school.

“I love everything,” Terra said. “We just can’t have everything. I wish we could.”

School Superintendent Jeffrey Schoonover said if new Chromebooks were leased for students in the eighth grade at the middle school, the Chromebooks that the school currently has is enough for every student in the sixth and seventh grade to have one, which would be like a one-to-one initiative. But he said the Chromebooks that the school currently has are not designed for students to take home, like is done with devices in one-to-one initiatives.

Schoonover said the school system has been preparing teachers at the middle school for the one-to-one initiative. He said he understands the initiative comes with a price tag and the school system has financial constraints.

School Committee member Andrew Crook said paying for Chromebooks for all three grades, as opposed to for just the eighth grade, does not seem to be a tremendous difference. But School Committee member Michael Botelho said the school system would have to pay for more technician support if it issued devices to every student at the middle school. Albernaz said the more devices the schools have, the more technician help they need.

Somerset Berkley Regional High School started a one-to-one technology initiative last year. The initiative is a trend in schools. Parents at SBRHS were required to buy insurance for the Chromebooks that their children were issued at the high school. School Committee member Lori Rothwell asked if there has been any problems with parents not paying for insurance for the Chromebooks at the high school. Albernaz said that in most cases, parents have either paid the insurance, received a waiver from it or the student was not required to have to pay the insurance because he or she was on free or reduced lunch. She said some Chromebooks that have been issued to students at SBRHS have been damaged, but not a lot.

Schoonover said when the Chromebooks are leased for the middle school, covers will be purchased to put on top of them, as an extra layer of protection. He said some of the damage to Chromebooks at the high school could have been avoided with such a precaution.

Albernaz said if the Chromebooks that are leased to own last five or six years, they could be passed on from student to student.

If all of the grades at the middle school were issued Chromebooks, the 450 Chromebooks that are currently used at the middle school were going to be passed down to the elementary schools. Paula Manchester, the principal of North Elementary School, said she was looking forward to that so that a one-to-one initiative could be started for grades 3 through 5 at her school. She said technology is not an extra for elementary school students, but a necessity. She said more and more curriculum requires online work. Manchester said the Chromebooks not only help students, but help teachers to prepare to provide support to students. She said students start taking computer-based assessment tests in the third grade.

Manchester said they have one cart of Chromebooks for each grade at North Elementary School that the classes share and said there are five computers in each classroom. She said the classes compete to get the carts of Chromebooks.

Principal Daniel Hanneken said he has a one-to-one student-to-Chromebooks ratio at South Elementary School. He said the Parent-Teacher Organization at the school and fundraising has helped South Elementary School to get enough devices to have for every student in those grades.

Schoonover said at least half of the devices in the elementary schools have been paid for with grants.

Albernaz said that even if only the eighth grade does the one-to-one initiative, some Chromebooks from the middle school would trickle down to the elementary schools, just not near as many as would if the three grades started a one-to-one initiative and new Chromebooks were leased to own for all of them, as had been planned originally.

There has also been a proposal to add a couple of special education teachers to co-teach in classes in the school district. Rothwell asked what was more important - Chromebooks or co-teachers. Jennifer Ashley, an instructional technology teacher for the school district, said both are equally as important. Manchester said it is hard to say one over another. She said all students use technology. But Ashley said the technology does not replace the special education teacher. Ashley said some people think technology is used to keep students out of the hair of teachers, but she said that is not true.