News Release
Homer CCSD 33C
Goodings Grove Luther J. Schilling William E. Young William J.Butler
Hadley Middle Homer Jr. High
Contact: Charla Brautigam, Communications/Public Relations Manager
cbrautigam@homerschools.org | 708-226-7628
For Immediate Release:
June 9, 2016
Homer 33C fulfills 1:1 Chromebook initiative
Just three years after joining the Future Ready movement and committing itself to empowering students for success in a dynamic world, Homer School District 33C is close to making it happen.
On May 31, the Board of Education approved the purchase of 700 additional Chromebooks, meaning every child in grades 3-8 will have a Chromebook or repurposed laptop to work with this fall.
“We want our students to possess the advanced tech skills and critical thinking skills that will give them an edge in life,” said Superintendent Kara Coglianese. “That means preparing them for a world of global competition and faster communications.”
The district purchased its first set of Chromebooks during the 2013-14 school year when it piloted the machines in Shannon Schroeder’s eighth-grade language arts class.
Pleased with how they worked, the district decided to launch a 1:1 Chromebook initiative so every child in grades 3-8 would have a Chromebook by 2017.
The first students to benefit from the initiative were the fourth-graders as well as the seventh-grade and eighth-grade language arts classes. The district, along with the Parent Teacher Organizations, purchased enough Chromebooks so every fourth-grader and every language arts student at the junior high level could use them on a daily basis.
In 2015, the district added to the collection, providing Chromebooks to every fourth-, fifth- and seventh-grade student.
This coming fall, the district will have enough Chromebooks and repurposed laptops for students in grades 3-8 — fulfilling the district’s 1:1 Chromebook initiative.
“There’s an interesting dynamic that happens the moment technology is introduced into the students’ hands,” said Schroeder, who piloted the program in 2013-14 and continues to use them in class each day for research, online note-taking, quizzes and group projects.
“It’s an immediate engagement and heightened interest on the students’ part,” she added, “and it may be because this generation is comfortable with technology. It’s a tool they are confident using.”
The district has already set aside $140,000 to purchase the 700 Chromebooks, said Arlene Siefert, the district’s director of technology.
In the future, she suggests the district consider investing $115,000 annually to pay for Chromebook replacements on a five-year rotation plan. She also suggests the district consider implementing a technology fee to help pay for the replacements.
“Our goal is to provide an effective and engaging instructional program that supports academic success for all students while maintaining the district’s positive fiscal status,” she said.
