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District says summer device take-home largely successful; 864 devices not returned
Summary
Technology staff reported results from the summer device take-home: roughly 14,111 devices issued, 864 not yet returned (about 1%), and technical issues when devices were off prevented some software updates. The district plans follow-ups and training for school tech staff.
At the Sept. 22 board meeting technology staff reported on the district’s summer take‑home device program and early device‑return numbers.
Why it matters: The district distributed devices to students so they could access learning tools over the summer and be ready for diagnostics at the start of the school year. Staff said the earlier device rollout this year enabled earlier diagnostics and earlier small-group instruction.
What staff reported
- Participation and returns: The district estimated 14,111 devices went home after a summer take‑home initiative. At the end of the previous school year 5,875 families had opted out (about 29% of enrollment at that time). As of the board packet deadline, 155 devices had not been returned; that grew to 864 devices not returned by a later check, about 1% of the devices issued.
- Distribution and losses: Some schools reported no device losses; high schools accounted for the largest share of unreturned devices. Musselman High School had the highest count at 25 missing devices, staff said.
- Technical issues and lessons learned: Staff said major problems were that devices that had been powered off over the summer did not receive an I‑Ready update, which delayed some students’ initial diagnostic tests until devices were reset and updated. Over the summer technology staff trained school technicians to lock and manage devices more quickly and to reset devices that missed updates.
Use of devices and concerns
The presentation noted the devices can enable summer work — including I‑Ready practice — but staff cautioned that parental assistance can alter a student’s I‑Ready pathway if a parent helps on the student’s diagnostic. The district said it will consider parameters and communications for summer usage to avoid unintentionally affecting diagnostics.
Operations changes
Staff said some device-management capabilities that required central office action in prior years have been decentralized: school tech staff can now put devices into lost mode and perform locks and resets, speeding response times.
What the board asked for
Board members asked for school-level breakdowns of missing devices, the number of devices that needed repair on return, and comparisons of device-distribution timing versus previous years. Technology staff said they would provide those details on request.
Ending
District staff characterized the overall summer take‑home as successful and said earlier device distribution helped teachers begin instruction and diagnostics sooner than in prior years.
