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Technology committee reports device inventory, hotspots and phased wireless replacement
Summary
IT lead Mr. Hill told the committee the district has hundreds of student devices checked out (Chromebook counts by building) and 100 T‑Mobile hotspots (30 on paid plans, 70 on free plans) with 21 currently signed out; he also said the district will begin configuring and installing a new wireless network in September to run alongside the existing network.
Mr. Hill reported classroom- and department-level technology inventory and plans for an infrastructure upgrade. "We have 400 Chromebooks checked out to students" at Peters Elementary, he said, and provided similar counts for other schools: 488 at Sington Elementary, 238 at the middle school and 506 at the high school. He noted the district also maintains Windows laptops for a 25-seat video-production lab and other labs for digital-art projects.
On home-internet access, Mr. Hill said the district owns 100 T‑Mobile hotspots, of which 30 are on a paid unlimited plan and 70 are on a free plan; 21 of those devices were signed out at the time of his report. "Those numbers fluctuate throughout the year," he said, noting sign-outs rise and fall with registrations and withdrawals.
Turning to network infrastructure, Mr. Hill said all wireless replacement equipment is on site and currently being configured; installation of new access points is expected to begin in September and will be phased so the old and new networks can run simultaneously during transition. To avoid classroom disruption, staff members offered to work afternoon/evening shifts to perform installations, and Mr. Hill said central office staff will support tech needs during the daytime.
Board members asked whether Adobe Creative Cloud was available on Chromebooks; Mr. Hill replied the Adobe suite is installed on the Windows laptops in the media labs only. He also confirmed laptops are available for checkout to students who need them for projects.
Administration said it will return with a further update at the next committee meeting as installations proceed.
