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Parent urges district to offer non‑digital alternative to 1:1 device policy
Summary
At the March 17 Osseo school board meeting, parent Anne Kavanaugh Kramer urged the board to provide an analog educational option to the district's 1:1 device policy, citing concerns about student mental health, handwriting and cognitive development.
At the Osseo Public School District’s March 17 meeting, parent Anne Kavanaugh Kramer told the board she supports computer skills instruction but urged the district to offer a non‑digital alternative to its 1:1 device policy.
Kramer said the policy has shifted classroom instruction to screens in many elementary classrooms and described effects she attributes to that change: “I believe this is an overreach of our initial objectives, and it's affecting our educational outcomes as well as our children's mental health and executive functioning skills,” she said. Kramer asked the board to provide an analog option so that "everything else would return to books, paper, and pencils" when technology does not genuinely enhance curriculum.
Kramer said her concerns are based on family observation of differences in her child’s behavior on days with heavy device use and cited classroom practices that substitute typing and gamified apps for early writing practice. She characterized her statement as anecdotal but urged the board to consider policy alternatives and accommodate families who prefer less screen‑based instruction.
Chair Tanya Prince reminded speakers of the three‑minute limit and the board did not respond during public comment; Kramer’s remarks were recorded for board consideration.
