The fourth wave of Chromebooks was sent out to students in the Clinton City School system on Friday at Sampson Middle School and the fifth wave hit on Monday.
According to John Lowe, executive director of Technology and Auxiliary Services for CCS, the Chromebooks were purchased long before the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Clinton City Schools started providing Chromebooks as student devices seven years ago and has continued to add to our fleet,” Lowe explained. “There were already enough devices for every student to use at Sampson Middle and Sunset Avenue Schools, though we were not yet sending them home in a typical 1:1 deployment. L.C. Kerr, Butler Avenue, and Clinton High School also had a fleet of Chromebooks from which we are able to pull for this emergency deployment.”
The Chromebooks were initially purchased for CCS board members to have access to their board documents. After that was successful, the cabinet saw that the Chromebooks were of value to teachers to provide online learning and give students access to things they wouldn’t normally have at school.
As funds became available, more Chromebooks were purchased. They were purchased through school funds, small grants, donations from places such as Smithfield Foods and several school fundraisers including the Middle School Band, the Visual Arts Club and the Journalism Club.
“We luckily had these devices on hand,” Donnie Morris, Technology Tech I, stated.
Once the state first received word that there was a confirmed individual with the virus in North Carolina, Lowe began considering his options. He immediately suggested sending out Chromebooks to the students in the district.
“We chose Chromebooks and the Google platform because of the availability of the included free educational based suit of tools that allows for collaboration and sharing amongst students and teachers, along with the free administrative management tools,” Lowe added. “The Chromebook hardware price point also makes it an appealing alternative to traditional laptops.”
During the first week of school closure, the technology department began distributing Chromebooks to families.
The superintendent’s cabinet began meeting to discuss their plans during the initial closure. Lowe stated that he felt the schools were shocked at the closure and although they were preparing for closure, they did not expect one so soon. However, Lowe expressed that he understood why it needed to happen to try to limit as much exposure as possible.
Once Gov. Roy Cooper announced that schools would remain closed until May 15, the cabinet decided to expand the parameters of which students can get Chromebooks, including first and second graders to go along with third grade through 12th grade.
“Clinton City Schools is working to provide a means to continue learning and a connection to school for our students regardless of the length of the closure,” Lowe added.
To access any functions on the computer, a student must scan a unique QR code to log into the computer and then log into any educational apps they may need to access for their studies.
Parents, guardians, or anyone over the age of 18 can pick up a Chromebook for a student in the school system. Before they get the Chromebook, they must fill out a release form. The form discloses that anyone signing for the Chromebook is responsible for it should any damage occur. If the responsible adult loses or breaks the Chromebook, they must pay a replacement fee of $250 and if they lose or damage the Chromebook AC adapter/charger, the fee is $35.
On top of the form, the adult must print the name of the child for which they are receiving the Chromebook. The crew enters that data in a spreadsheet and if the child is not listed with the school system, Lowe can brick the Chromebook, making it impossible to use or pawn.
Lowe is not concerned with the possibility that someone in the community might try to take advantage of their system.
Once the students return to school, they will need to return the Chromebook and, if any are damaged or just not returned, the schools will charge the adult who signed for the device the previously stated fee.
As of Friday, CCS has handed out 718 Chromebooks to students from third to 12th grade. There have been 40 to 50 parents who reached out to someone in the school system to see if they could get Chromebooks outside of the designated time frame of 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those parents have been accommodated because the system wants to make sure every student can get a Chromebook if they need one. Some parents can’t come during their lunch break and must do individual trade-offs.
Marla Taylor has two kids at home who both need the family’s sole computer to type up all of their course work. Taylor decided to get a Chromebook from CCS so both of her children could work on their work at the same time without having to wait on one another.
“Most parents have been appreciative,” Lowe stated. “The biggest challenge we’re facing is that there are so many families that don’t already have the internet.”
Without internet access, it is difficult for students to access the apps they need to complete their school work.
Students who have Internet access or Mobile hotspot access are encouraged to connect any devices they may have at home that can connect with their teachers through Google Classrooms and that can communicate with their teachers in general.
Several WiFI hotspots have been set up at the schools and within the community to help students access the internet. CCS has determined that students can also access Google Classroom through Xbox or PlayStation.
The schools have set up eight WiFi hotspots for students, and they expect it to support 20 to 30 users at a time. The access is available from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. Locations include the 606 College St. parking, the L.C. Kerr School’s front parking lot, the Butler Avenue School’s bus and teacher parking lots, the Sunset Avenue School’s Kerr Street parking, the Sampson Middle School’s front and rear parking lots and the Clinton High School’s student parking lot.
“We’ve tried to make it available where we can,” Lowe added.
The school system has also purchased 48 KaJeet hotspots, a small device that connects to Verizon mobile service. It is also filtered. The initial order was placed on March 14, with expedited shipping with a proposed arrival date of two to four days. The school system ordered an additional 24 KaJeet hotspots on March 16. However, expedited shipping was no longer an option at that time.
According to Lowe, “cabinet identified seniors and EC students who have no means to access the internet as highest priority” will receive a personal invitation with details on when and how to pick up the hotspots. A guide and instruction sheet has been prepared that will be delivered with the hotspots.
The crew handing out Chromebooks was sure to remain clean and make sure no germs were transferred from parent to parent. The members wore gloves and they wiped every clipboard after each transaction with Lysol.
The team included Lowe, Morris, WaWa Ko, Technology Tech III, Tim Rose, System Administrator and his wife, Amy Rose, a volunteer and Lynne Sanderson, part-time Media Coordinator for L.C Kerr Elementary School.
CCS has just over 3,000 Chromebooks combined and they have just under 3,000 students, according to Lowe. Therefore, every student could technically get a Chromebook if needed. CCS continued distributing Chromebooks from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Monday, March 30.
