ComputeRS Garrison Elementary School in Ward 2 had more laptops than students and staff, while Randle Highlands Elementary in Ward 7 had less than one laptop per every 13 students and staff. The data revealed a more extreme gap District-wide in desktops, where the poorest-resourced schools reported having less than one desktop for every 20 students and staff. (DCPS says it gave students at three middle schools laptops through a grant last school year.) Computers are crucial for preparing students to succeed in the modern world. They are also essential to participating in standardized testing and blended learning, an
approach that provides students both face-to-face instruction and online, personalized learning. DCPS recommends one device per every three students that participate in online standardized testing. This is below the State Educational Technology Directors Association recommendation of one per student. The results of City Paper’s FOIA did not reveal whether all DCPS schools met the one-to-three ratio because it’s unclear which devices are allocated to students and which are allocated to staff. The data do show, however, a wide disparity in technology access across schools.
Laptop Access in DC Public Schools
Desktop Access in DC Public Schools
TableTs
Tablet Access in DC Public Schools
Tablets, such as iPads, allow students to access online programs and resources, and many schools pay subscription fees for these programs. Seven D.C. schools didn’t have tablets at all. On the other end of the spectrum, seven schools had at least one tablet for every four students and staff.
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