'Distance Learning' in Sacramento Means 20,000 Chromebooks
School districts in the Sacramento area are ramping up the distribution of essential technology to households as formal "distance learning" programs are close to launching for tens of thousands of students.
School districts in the Sacramento area are ramping up the distribution of essential technology to households as formal “distance learning" programs are close to launching for tens of thousands of students.
Students and parents lined up Monday at Mira Loma High and El Camino Fundamental high schools for laptop computers. Natomas Unified announced it will be distributing nearly 7,000 Chromebook laptops and about 2,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to families.
And the union representing teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District proposed that the district spend $1.7 million in savings from a new health plan to purchase Google Chromebooks — and potentially Wi-Fi hot spots — for students.
“Our proposal would immediately redirect that $1.7 million in savings to purchase Chromebooks and/or hot spots for students to enable them to participate, to the extent feasible, in Distance Learning instruction beginning on April 13,” said Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) President David Fisher. “The use of these funds has been at dispute between the district and SCTA up to this point. We believe this use of funds should be sufficient to provide every student who lacks a computer or tablet with a device and should be immediately applied so that we can serve our students who suffer from an opportunity gap.”
Sacramento City Unified officials said that, while they appreciate the SCTA’s proposal, the $1.7 million in savings cited by the union is still a matter of dispute and currently in arbitration.
The district said it has worked with the Sacramento County Office of Education to identify resources to purchase laptops, and told The Sacramento Bee that it used $5.1 million in Measure Q funding to order 20,000 Chromebooks last week. (The district notified the union of the purchase Monday afternoon, after the union’s announcement.)
In recent weeks, school districts across the country have announced they were remaining CONTINUE READING: 'Distance Learning' in Sacramento Means 20,000 Chromebooks