1:1 FAQs

Yes! Students should take their Chromebook home.

Yes. We want students to take ownership of the device and should take their device home over the summer. It’s a valuable learning tool and learning doesn’t stop when school is out!

Teachers will have and manage a few loaner Chromebooks in their classroom that can be used for the short term in accordance with classroom rules and discipline, but if it becomes clear that the Chromebook will not be recovered, the student will be responsible for the district’s portion of an equivalent replacement. Replacement cost will vary, but if the lost device is older, the replacement fee may be as little as $50, or if newer as high as $150.

As part of the yearly $40 device payment ($20 K-4th), the district is prepared to make 3 repairs per year. Repairs beyond 3, purposeful damage, or damage from extreme neglect will be at the student’s expense. The student will receive a loaner Chromebook to use while the technology department makes the repair.

The specific models vary depending on a number of factors, but we expect to issue 11” Acer educational series devices with 4GB of RAM. The most common model is the Acer C721.

A Chromebook is a “browser only” computer which isn’t as limiting as it sounds due to most tasks now being “web-based” or “in the cloud”, and actually comes with quite a few advantages. Due to Chromebooks being “browser only” computers they are more economical, light, easy to manage, start up and reboot very quickly, and rarely get any viruses or malware. Traditional laptops are great for more specialized uses for a specific task, interest, or hobby that may require extra processing power or software that hasn’t been recreated to run on the web.

Like most aspects of student preparedness, consequences are handled by the student’s teacher. Teachers will have and manage a few loaner Chromebooks in their classroom that may be available in accordance with classroom rules.

It’s important that your student takes ownership and responsibility for their device. Stickers are permitted as part of this and help with the identification of the device, but we encourage students to stick them to a case.

The district is essentially splitting the cost of the device with students. The student device payment is $40 per year with 3 repairs per year. This accumulates to $160 over 4 years after which the student keeps the device. Grades K through 4 differ. Grades K through 4 receive the same 3 repairs per year, but do not keep the device and have a $20 fee. Splitting the cost with students helps the district to hold costs steady by spending what it traditionally has on student devices.

Cases are encouraged! 

• OHS students with a device that meets or exceeds the waiver device requirements can opt for a waiver to bring their own device.

• Junior high and elementary students, however, will be assigned a district-issued Chromebook to help with uniformity and management of the devices. Students who initially indicated via FinalForms to bring their own “waiver device” upon the district’s 1:1 launch (2019 thru 2020) may continue to do so, but starting in 22-23 and onward, students upon entering 5th-grade, will automatically be switched to the school-issued device option.

Students will return the device upon exiting the district. Upon request at exit, depending on district needs, an option to purchase the device where the student would pay for the remaining value of the device as set by the technology department may be available.

For instance, a student who elects to use a waiver device for 5th, 6th, and 7th grade, but chooses a district-selected device in 8th grade should expect to pay $40 for that year and receive a 3-year-old device similar to the device their classmates use.

In meetings with parents as part of the 1:1 planning, it became clear that parents prefer to set their own levels of monitoring and filtering for their students when away from school. However, when a student uses their school-issued Google account there is monitoring and filtering in association with the school account, though not as extensive as the filter in place on the school’s network and only active when signed into the student’s school account.

We asks families to handle extra or replacement power cords. They can be found at a variety of places such as the Acer web store or Amazon. Any power cord listed as Acer 45W USB-C should work.

Due to the district splitting the cost of the Chromebook with students it is highly unlikely to find another Chromebook that offers an equivalent value in performance, price, longevity and with repairs included.