Students now have an opportunity to “rent” laptops from the Media Center.
Similar to books, the student will be able to check out the laptop for up to three days. The laptop will remain free of charge for the student if it is returned undamaged.
“There will be an agreement form that must be signed by students and their parents/guardians before checkouts can be done,” Ken McBeth, media specialist, said. “The district has provided 25 laptops and chargers for the current checkout program.”
The idea of this program has been tossed around for years, but the Student Ambassadors, students from each high school who attend school board meetings to address student concerns, had the idea approved at the end of last school year. Now that the school has the equipment for it, it is intended to be beneficial for students.
“This will help me since I have a large family. Our computer is shared by many different accounts, which doesn’t really give me a long time to go on it,” Tori Temko, junior, said. “With the laptop check-out, I’ll be able to work at my own pace and not feel rushed by other people that have to go on it.”
The program gives all students an equal opportunity to complete schoolwork, even if they don’t have a computer at home.
“Teachers would be able to assign work and be confident that all students should be able to complete it at home if necessary,” McBeth said.
English teachers are especially pleased to hear the news of the new program, since they generally assign computer work and papers.
“I definitely think that students will benefit from the program, especially students who may not have access to a computer at home,” Kourtney Kurek, English teacher, said.