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Teachers, students report Wi-Fi outages and phone‑policy side effects as school year begins
Summary
Teachers and student representatives told the board that recent Wi‑Fi outages and a new personal‑device policy are disrupting instruction and limiting students’ ability to record performing‑arts work; a teacher said staff experienced connectivity problems on eight of the last ten school days.
Teachers and student leaders told the Prince William County School Board on Sept. 3 that unreliable Wi‑Fi and limits on personal devices are disrupting instruction, restricting student work in performing arts and creating accessibility problems for students who rely on assistive technology.
Angie Treyrtola (recorded in the meeting as Angie Trey Rotola), a Prince William County teacher who said she is a personal finance fellowship recipient, told the board the district’s technology infrastructure failed repeatedly during the summer and early school days. “We are now at 8 out of 10 days with connectivity issues,” she said, and urged a communitywide response to upgrade infrastructure and ensure devices meet student needs. Treyrtola said teachers have had to rely on personal hotspots to take attendance and access instructional systems.
Student representative Beulah Sarsa and other student senators reported that the new personal‑device policy — which restricts student smartphone use during class, passing periods and lunch — has some positive effects on face‑to‑face interactions but creates challenges for performing arts students who previously used personal phones to record auditions and capture audio for feedback. Sarsa said school‑issued laptops often cannot capture high quality audio and that some students are unsure whether wired earbuds are permitted under the new rules.
Teachers asked the board to treat the issue as an accessibility problem: translation, speech‑to‑text and other assistive tools require reliable connectivity and modern devices, especially in a division that serves students in more than 170 languages. Board members and staff said the division is aware of the concerns and will continue to work on infrastructure and device‑provisioning, but no new funding or formal action was announced at the meeting.
— This article draws on citizen comments and student‑representative reports made at the Sept. 3 board meeting.
