R-II district provides Chromebooks to all students

By SKYE POURNAZARI | THE FORUM

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Putting funding where it matters most, with educational tools directly into the hands of students, the Maryville R-II school district reached a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020.

The project was started last spring, but the pandemic pushed pause on it until the fall.

“This is the first school year where we’ve truly gone one-toone with our Chromebook distribution,” said Assistant Superintendent Steve Klotz.

Students from kindergarten through fourth grade have Chromebooks, but they’re used in the classroom. Students from fifth through 12th grades have their Chromebooks checked out to them for the year.

“Each student has their own device and they’ve been assigned to them,” he said. “They’re responsible for use and maintenance and care.”

The district has around 1,650 Chromebooks and each one is assigned to a student for a period of time. For example, a second grader receives a Chromebook that they will keep until fifth grade,when they will receive a new device. That student again will receive a new device upon entering ninth grade.

Students return them during the summer for cleaning, updates and maintenance.

Maryville Middle School seventh graders use their Google Chromebooks during school in 2020. The R-II school district met its goal of a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020.

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He noted that the district purchased some “Zap tents,” to heat clean the devices during the summer. This will allow the school to prepare them for redistribution.

The district also offers a “Risk Management Plan.” For $25 parents can insure their child’s device from any accidental damage like scratches on the screen or missing keys, Klotz said.

“When you’re transporting them to and from school, they’re not the most durable device,” he said. “They’re relatively cost effective which means they’re also a little more consumable than a $1,500 laptop.”

However, if the damage is found to be intentional, the student would be charged the full price to replace the device, around $250.

“It’s a little bit more manpower on our end to try and keep everything up and going consistently, but we’re able to manage that right now,” Klotz said.

He believes when the current need for the devices as a connection with the school during the pandemic is over, that the students will still need them. He thinks they will have grown accustomed to the devices and learned how to utilize them for the classroom.

The district has had Chromebooks available for students for four or five years, but just reached that full 1:1 ratio last year.

“This gives them a consistent device to use,” he said. “It’s not something we have a lot of money tied up in, compared to a Mac book.”

But the district has those also for some classrooms and labs that require a little more power to run various kinds of software.

“I think it’s been a good investment for the district,” he said.

The cost is manageable since the district can purchase 300-350 Chromebooks per year to replace those reaching their end of life date.

This also keeps the devices within three to four years old to provide students with updated and current technologies.

Maryville High School students use their Google Chromebooks in the classroom in 2020. The R-II school district met its goal of a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020.

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After coming out of rotation, the district keeps the best devices on hand in the office for students to check out. Whether the device was left at home or their current Chromebook is undergoing a repair, this allows for students to check one out for use in the meantime.

“Our students have done a good job,” Klotz said. “I don’t know what our churn has been this year, but I’d say we’ve had less than 30 to 40 device-type issues that we’ve had to repair.”

NorthwestCell partnership

With regard to internet access at home, students are also able to check out routers with data plans provided to the district through a partnership with NorthwestCell.

“They were able to help us with some very good pricing with some routers that we could check out to students,” he said. “We’ve been able to use county CARES Act funds to help support that.”

The district has about 20 to 30 routers and accompanying data plans that may be checked out by students who have no internet access at home.

Klotz said that around 15 to 20 students have checked out the devices within the last year. The issues typically arise when a student is out on quarantine with no access to the internet from home.

“They’ve (NorthwestCell) been a good partner to work with,” he said.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS Maryville Middle School students use their Google Chromebooks during school in 2020. The R-II school district met its goal of a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020. Maryville Middle School seventh graders use their Google Chromebooks during school in 2020. The R-II school district met its goal of a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020.

Maryville High School students use their Google Chromebooks in the classroom in 2020. The R-II school district met its goal of a 1:1 ratio of Google Chromebooks to students in 2020.