We are happy to share that Reading has sustained its commitment to provide all students in the Reading Public Schools a 1:1 device to use. This looks different by level. In the middle schools, we will assign students to a dedicated computer for their use. These computers will reside in carts in the buildings, which have power adaptors (as they did last year). All students and parents will be asked to sign an Acceptable Use Policy so that responsibility is taken when using these devices.
While maintaining this practice, we want to ensure that students have access to a device at home in order to access online assignments, type papers on Google docs, check email, research, etc. Therein, we are sending out this form to learn which families would like for their student to have permission to bring home their school-issued device for homework. This is a new policy relative to last year. There are some things to consider when deciding if bringing the device home is needed/ right for your student:
- A charger will be sent home so that charging can happen at home. The cost of this charger is $50 if it is not returned at the end of the school year.
- ALL students are responsible for the care and keeping of their laptops. Laptops that travel to and from school are more likely to sustain damage. Students are responsible for damage beyond normal wear and tear. (Laptop replacement - $600; display repair - $200; keyboard damage - $150; exterior case damage - $100; power adaptor - $50.) Please note: the high school assigned devices to students last year to go home. 150 of those were assigned fees due to accidental damage/ neglect.
- A student who brings their laptop home is expected to bring it back to school the next day charged and ready for use.
- If a student forgets their device at home, there are limited backups that the school can provide, so a backup is not guaranteed.
- Lost/ stolen equipment must be reported to the police in order to get a replacement device.
- Students and caregivers will be asked to sign both an Acceptable Use Policy, a Computer Use Policy, as well as a Loaner Agreement before this practice will be in place.
If your student needs a device at home and your family feels that the guidelines set above are manageable, please continue to the next page to sign up, and to grant this first level of permission for your student. We will assess the results to ensure that we have the equipment available to support the needs. If we can, further documentation will then be sent home during the first week of school, and home use will begin the week of September 12th.
If your child already has access to a device at home, we recommend NOT proceeding with this form so that as many computers as possible remain safely stored at school. This eliminates the variables of travel and forgetting at home, and improves our ability to monitor and manage the devices. That being said, if circumstances change during the year, please reach out to your building principal at any time!
