In August, laptop computers that cost $1,100 each were put in the hands of students at all middle and high schools in the Shoreline School District to use in class and take home.
The program was approved by voters in February as part of a $149 million bond that’s paying for the initial costs. Some parents, including those who voted for the bond, say they have concerns about the project, while others are excited.
“I was pushing for the tech levy and thought I understood everything until it hit me between the eyes,” said Lauri Woodfield, who has two children at Shorewood High School. “I got caught off guard.”
The yearly insurance cost was one thing that surprised her.
The initial $70 fee covers first-year insurance and the laptop cover. Parents will pay $50 per laptop per year in subsequent years for insurance until the child graduates.
“I wish I had six months to prepare for the $140,” Woodfield said. “My friend had a great point, saying you’re not supposed to have to pay to go to school.”
She isn’t against the laptops, Woodfield said.
“I just need more time to adjust and I want to see how teachers use it,” she said.
Paying $140 in August is a lot of money, especially when added to other back-to-school costs, said Pat Valle, who has a seventh-grader and a Shorewood senior in her household.
Valle has other concerns about the project. The district has tentative plans to refresh and update the computers each summer. That will be a financial drain, she said, and many laptops will be obsolete before students graduate.
“I know that it has potential for benefit, but I don’t think it was a very well-thought-out initiative,” she said. “I don’ t know if people really looked at it and said: ‘What will this look like five years from now?’”
Dom Amor co-chaired the citizen’s campaign to support the 2006 bond measure and has two daughters at Shorewood.
“It won’t surprise you to hear that I’m very excited and very pleased about them having laptops,” he said. “It’s very good for them to be coming into the 21st century.”
However, Amor is, like many parents, worried about the temptations laptops offer for non-academic activities like online chat, visiting myspace.com and playing games.
“I think (Internet surfing) will become a huge temptation for them outside of school, on the bus, or during school,” he said. “I know there’s going to be that difficulty in fighting the temptation to do surfing when (they’re) not supposed to.”
The district’s Internet servers use filtering software to screen inappropriate Web sites and content, but those are only in effect at school.
The laptops have restrictions on installing software including instant messaging, illegal downloading of copyrighted music, games and more.
The laptops also have parent-control software that can be used to restrict access to the Internet and various programs.
Still, the measures aren’t foolproof.
Woodfield said she knows students who already use their laptops to instant message and visit myspace.com outside of school hours.
Lonna Calas, who has a daughter at Kellogg Middle School, said she’s amazed that parents are worried about the computers.
“I think it’s fantastic,” she said of the program. “I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be good.”
Students have freedom on the Internet anyway, whether it’s at the library or at home, she said. She said parents are worried because they have to learn new technology and get involved, but that students will benefit from learning new programs.
Calas doesn’t worry about the loss or theft of her child’s laptop, but other parents do.
“Sometimes it seems like they can barely hold on to their books,” said Shari Winstead-Tracey, whose stepdaughter is a junior at Shorewood.
Winstead-Tracey said she supports the program for the most part.
“I think it’s going to keep the kids more up to speed on technology,” she said.
Barb Adams, who has two children at Shorewood, said some parents are concerned that the computers will be targeted by thieves. Parents expressed the thought at a recent meeting, she said.
“Some of the parents said, ‘What do you do with a 12-year-old girl at a bus stop and people know they have a ($1,100) laptop?” she said.
Adams is also less convinced of the benefits of the program.
“It’s not about learning computers,” she said. “A lot of kids in the district know way more about computers than most adults.”
The initiative also is a lot to take on considering the district’s financial crisis, she said.
The purchase of new technology and the initial training and software for it comes from the capital projects fund, which is healthy. However, ongoing maintenance and technical support will come from the general fund. The general fund, which pays for teachers and ongoing expenses, is estimated to end with about a $2.9 million deficit this year.
“I think if we had a district that was in really good financial shape, this would be a great program. But given the fact that we’re struggling (with) some basic educational things, it’s more than we should take on at this point,” Adams said. “But now that they’ve decided to take it on, we need to give it the support we can to make it work.”
Amor is curious to see how the laptop initiative will work in the classroom.
“I still view this as a major experiment in the education culture,” he said. “It will be interesting to see what kind of progress students make.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
