Lyndonville looks to buy 300 laptops next school year for students in grades 7-12
LYNDONVILLE – The school district wants to make laptops available for all students in grades 7 through 12 next school year, using state funds through the Smart Schools initiative.
Lyndonville was approved for $733,151 in Smart Schools funding in 2014. The 300 new Google Chromebooks would be part of Phase 4 of the Smart Schools in Lyndonville and would cost about $90,000.
Lyndonville held a public hearing about the proposal on Monday evening. The plan needs to get final approval from the State Education Department.
Lyndonville has already worked to upgrade its server and network through earlier phases of the Smart Schools.
The district has used some of the laptops in classes, but students haven’t been assigned their own computer to take home. That will change in September, as part of Phase 4.
Some teachers are using the computers in class, and students can do assignments and take tests on the laptops.
Dr. Aaron Slack, junior-senior high school principal at Lyndonville, has been working on the Phase 4 proposal with the computers. He said using the Chromebooks will help students transition to college, where many students are expected to complete homework and write papers and submit them electronically to their professors.
Slack said the district now has a strong enough network and wireless Internet access to handle students and teachers using the Chromebooks.
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