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Parents and teachers urge reconsideration of 1‑to‑1 Chromebooks for elementary grades
Summary
Several speakers during public comment urged the board to reconsider issuing district Chromebooks to elementary students, citing screen time, family conflict, unequal impacts on lower‑income students and suggestions for alternative approaches such as shared carts or checkout programs.
At CUSD 200’s Board of Education meeting, multiple public commenters urged the district to reconsider one‑to‑one Chromebook distribution for elementary students and presented alternatives and concerns.
Sally Gurgis, a Longfellow parent and PTA volunteer, told the board that 1‑to‑1 laptops are “not appropriate” for elementary grades. She said parents do not want another source of conflict at home and argued that devices increase screen time and decrease outdoor play. Gurgis cited recent books and reports she said address harms from screens and social media and urged the district to consider shared computer labs or a checkout model similar to library books instead of issuing devices to every child.
Mary Louise Henjesbaugh, also a Longfellow parent and a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), echoed concerns about at‑home screen time and said Chromebooks had created a “wedge between parents and kids” in her household. Henjesbaugh told the board students with special needs in her family struggled more with digital addiction and described two incidents this school year when a child was on a district Chromebook overnight. She thanked the district IT department for effective content filters but asked the board to consider mobile docking stations, shared carts, or staggered testing schedules so devices need not be sent home nightly.
Aaron Perlman, a Wheaton North mathematics teacher and coach, spoke during public comment about resilience in students and the value of engagement and relationships in school; his remarks addressed classroom practice rather than the Chromebook issue directly but were part of the public comment period.
Administration response and context: The board chair reminded speakers that personnel and student‑specific matters should be raised privately and described board policy that allows the board to shorten speaker time when needed; the chair said the board would not discuss public comments directly during the meeting until context had been reviewed. Several members of the administration and the CAC were noted as participating in ongoing conversations about device policy; administration said it would present a recommendation to the board in April after additional input from building administrators and stakeholder groups.
Why it matters: Device distribution policies affect home routines, equity (access to internet), testing schedules and special‑needs accommodations. Parents offered alternatives such as shared devices, checkout programs, docking stations and staggered test schedules aimed at reducing daily home device use for younger students.
What’s next: Administration said it will bring a recommendation to the board at the April meeting after further review and stakeholder input.
