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07/03/2018 12:00 AMAt the Joint Region 4 Board of Education (BOE) Committee meeting at John Winthrop Middle School on June 7, local high school students and parents from Deep River and Essex shared concerns about how the school district is handling of the use of personal computers at Valley Regional High School (VRHS).
“I’ve been working with a couple other parents trying to figure out how to work with the district to come up with a better plan but they seem to be locked into the Chromebook 1:1 plan,” said Laura Miezejeski of Deep River, who spoke at the meeting after her son, Macklin, was told the school would cut off his access to the internet if he attempted to use his own laptop.
“I’m not sure they were entirely receptive and I haven’t gotten much input back from them. There’s very little information on the website about what they’re doing with Google and Chromebook and the 1:1 policy—or non-policy—that they have.”
The 1:1 policy refers to one-to-one computing, a plan to provide a device—in the case of VRHS a Chromebook—to each student in order to access the internet and digital course materials. Currently, students at VRHS are expected to use the school-issued Chromebook and are not given the option to opt-out of that even if they have their own laptop.
Bring Your Own Device
Many VRHS parents are advocating for a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy which would allow students to use their personal computers, for the same purpose as the 1:1 policy, in the classroom.
“I have been given a whole host of reasons why personal computers will not be allowed, none of which have any merit and some of which are overreaching and border on personal rights infringements,” said Essex resident and parent Dominique Merrick.
Tessa McPherson of Ivoryton, who has a child attending VRHS, said in the meeting that she has her own concerns about the use of Chromebooks, as well as cellphones, and feels that their use needs to be reviewed.
Jodi Azzinaro of Ivoryton told the BOE that while she agrees with Region 4’s commitment to provide technology for everyone, she suggests that students who are already using their own technology should be grandfathered into the progrm.
VRHS offers courses through Virtual High School (VHS) to expand class offerings to students. However, according to Jenny Merrick, a sophomore at VRHS who has taken classes through VHS in the past, with the warning, some classes are introduced with the following restriction: ‘this course requires regular access to a computer with a Windows[/Mac] operating system…the course cannot be completed on a Chromebook.’
“How can we participate in these [VHS] courses if we are required to use a Chromebook?,” asked Merrick, who said she attended the meeting to advocate for herself as well as her classmates who have used their own computers before this new rule was implemented.
“Over the last two years, using my own computer has motivated me to achieve good grades. Having a bright, big screen on a device I am already comfortable with promotes my own success in school,” she said.
According to Merrick, one of the reasons for the policy against use of personal computers is that they don’t have Go Guardian on them. Go Guardian is a software provider on Chromebook which monitors all internet browsing a student does on their device, even when they are not in a classroom setting.
“If a student isn’t on task, it is only going to affect that students, say, when a test rolls around,” said Jenny Merrick. “Why is the school not allowing us to be accountable for our own success or failure through experiencing actions and consequences?”
A larger concern for parents is the lack of information available. Laura Miezejeski said she didn’t know how much money was spent on the current policy or the the future plan for devices in Region 4 schools.
“You go on other school district’s [websites] and they have it all mapped out and you talk to other schools in the area who are very forward about what they’re doing, what worked for them, what didn’t work for them, how they worked with parents and teachers and students,” said Laura Miezejeski. “The only one that seems to be so resistant is our district and it’s very frustrating.”
Chester BOE member Rob Bibbiani asked how the issues mentioned in the public comment portion of the meeting would be addressed. Rick Daniels of the Region 4 BOE responded that before the Board can discuss with the public or make decisions, they must have all the information.
The next regular Joint Region 4 BOE meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 4.