Board approves new iPads for elementary
COMO-PICKTON—COVID-19 protocols have required Texas school districts to jump into virtual learning in cases of closures or quarantines, and Como-Pickton Consolidated Independent School District Assistant Superintendent Jana Andrews presented the district’s asynchronous plan to the board Monday night, calling it “absolutely new for us.”
“It’s absolutely been a learning process,” Andrews said. “The campus principals have worked with their teachers on their campuses to garner input and funnel that back to me to do the draft of the plan.”
Asynchronous refers to instruction that is not held between the teacher and the student at the same time. Examples include videos, worksheets or online softwares like Google Classroom. Another option is using a synchronous plan in which students would livestream their classes, but Andrews said it would not have worked for their students.
“Due to the limitations of Wi-Fi in our county and in our school district, we pretty quickly knew that would not be the best solution for all of our families,” Andrew said. “We looked more heavily into the asynchronous plan direction.”
Board member Jessica Pegues asked what the plan detailed for special education students, and Andrews said the plan has “general statements” of how to support the students.
“There are general statements here, but on the individual student basis, you’re going to see more detail,” she said.
When board member Brittany Smith asked how remote learning students were currently doing, Andrews said it differed from household to household as parents adapted to technology difficulties.
Elementary Principal Linda Rankin said virtual learning for elementary students has more challenges to it because most need high levels of support.
“We have some kiddos that I think have been very successful, and we’ve had some kiddos that have really struggled, just depending on their level of understanding and the support they have at home,” Rankin said.
Board secretary Shiloh Childress questioned how STAAR testing would work for students quarantining to COVID-19 exposure or choosing to remote learning for the school year, and Andrews said the TEA has given no guidelines on the matter.
“We don’t know what the requirements are going to be,” Andrews said. “Do those kids have to come up here and be socially distanced? Can it be provided at home? What does that even look like?”
Rankin made the comparison of the state-mandated early reading assessment given earlier in the year. She said students took the test in a conference room away from most people and were monitored by one teacher, and options were available for remote tests.
The board approved CPCISD’s asynchronous plan, but final approval will be given by the Texas Education Agency. If the plan is returned with questions, the board may have to meet again before the Oct. 1 deadline to approve further changes.
In other business, the board approved 150 new iPads for elementary students as a part of a district-wide technology refresh. According to Technology Director Joe Newman, the current iPads were purchased in 2013 and were experiencing problems.
“The issue right now is that a lot of apps aren’t working, and we’ve hit a wall with iOS updates,” Newman said. “They’re pretty much just like paperweights.”
The total cost is $42,900, but the funds are coming from the district’s Instructional Material Allotment from the state, meaning there is no impact on the school’s budget.
Pegues asked why the district is buying iPads instead of Chromebooks, and Newman and Rankin explained elementary students need the tactile features of an iPad.
“In the elementary, a lot of our little kids are working on their handeye coordination,” Rankin said. “Even our second graders struggle to understand there’s two buttons on that mouse.”