Fortson student tells board Michael Berry Career Center lab lacks updated Adobe, tablet drivers and a classroom-monitoring tool

"Hello. My name is Amelia Abbas. I am a student at Fortson High School and at Michael Berry. I'm enrolled in the digital design class, which I absolutely enjoy," Amelia Abbas told the Dearborn City School District board during public comment. She described multiple technology problems that she said prevent students from using industry-standard tools in the lab.

Amelia said the classroom has drawing tablets that cannot be used because the device drivers are not installed on the computers. She also said the district has already purchased Adobe software but the lab machines do not have current updates. "Choosing not to update to the newest version seems like a waste when you're trying to train for our career goals," she said.

Amelia said her teacher has submitted multiple requests to the technology department but those requests "have gone unanswered for the past many years," and that installing drivers and application updates requires the tech department to use administrative credentials. She also asked for a classroom monitoring/management program the teacher could use from his desk to observe students' screens and assist remotely; the student referred to that program in the transcript as "Crosstrek" (the word also sounded like "crosstalk" in parts of the recording). The student said some other labs in the district have the monitoring software and that its absence makes it harder for the teacher to support students efficiently.

President Mossev (the board president) responded after the comment period, saying, "We will definitely look into these issues that you address." The transcript does not show further details about any immediate follow-up action or timeline from the technology department.

Amelia closed by saying she enjoys the class and "feel[s] like there could be more technology support for the specialized computer classes."