Shawano School District officials are hoping their continued partnership with Apple will go smoother than when the initial project started.
In a presentation to the Shawano School Board on July 8, technology director Eric Brunner recommended the district enter into a new four-year lease. Under the agreement, students in kindergarten through seventh grade each get an iPad tablet to work with in school, and students in the eighth grade and high school receive a MacBook laptop computer for their schoolwork. According to Brunner, the lease would be $512,906 each year, totaling a little more than $2 million with no interest payments.
That payment will be offset by Total Technology, a company that works with K-12 schools, businesses, state and local governments, buying the old equipment. According to Brunner, the company will pay $350,000 cash up front, and then examine the condition of the equipment. If it’s in good condition, the district could receive up to another $750,000 once the review is complete.
Brunner noted that teachers will have a choice to utilize MacBooks for themselves in the classroom or go with a Windows laptop. When the district made the switch to all Apple products in 2020, the learning curve proved much more difficult than expected, with teachers complaining that they had problems connecting the equipment. Some even abandoned their equipment altogether when it slowed down a learning process already hindered by the pandemic.
“There’s been some major changes, including the way we manage them, how we manage them,” Brunner said. “The team and I have been very meticulous about how they will be managed this time around. We’ve gotten staff feedback and addressed all of those concerns and problems. I’m not going to say it’s 100% (fixed), but it’s going to be very close to that.”
Board member Bobbi Lemerond questioned why eighth grade is getting laptops, while the sixth and seventh grades will have tablets like the younger children.
Superintendent Kurt Krizan said the initial plan was for the eighth grade to get tablets as well, but officials felt it was necessary to introduce laptops to prepare them for high school, when that equipment is the primary source for completing classwork.
Board member John Ayers expressed concern about online access for students outside of school. He pointed out there have been student complaints that their devices have been unable to reach needed research sites or portals when they’ve been doing homework, which has made it frustrating for them — especially high-achieving students — to complete their assignments.
“If they’re using a school device, a lot of times for no really good reason at all, sometimes the kids can’t access what they need to access,” Ayers said.
Brunner said that the procedure has been that, whenever access is blocked on a device, teachers will send requests to the technology department, and then staff will test the device and make fixes, if necessary.
Ayers noted that was good for during the week, but if there are problems on the weekends, teachers and technology staff aren’t available then to get things fixed.
This was a surprise to Brunner.
“I guess I haven’t heard of this,” he said. “Does this happen often?”
Two board members said it has happened with their children, and teachers have been accommodating when technology makes it difficult for students to do the work. Ayers noted that doesn’t diminish the frustration of the brighter students who are trying to be responsible in getting their work done as requested.
“You get the high-achieving kids, and when they can’t do that, they go nuts,” Ayers said. “In their eyes, they’re failing. They can’t get done what they need to do.”
The lease is expected to be approved by the school board in August.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
