LEWISTON — Each of the 350 freshmen at Lewiston High School was given a Chromebook laptop computer this week, paid for with a $94,000 bond authorized by the School Committee.
“It’s going great,” Assistant Principal Jay Dufour said Thursday, the day after the laptops were distributed. “The kids are excited about having them. We’ve tried to do as much as we can to get them prepared. We’ve had a few bumps, but it will better prepare us for next year.”
In Maine, seventh- and eighth-grade students each get a computer paid for by the state, an initiative started by former Gov. Angus King. The majority of Maine high schools, including Edward Little High School in Auburn, provide computers to each student.
Last year, the Lewiston School Committee agreed to provide laptops this year to freshmen. The cost is about $300 per Chromebook, including the case and Google support.
The School Committee will decide this year whether another bond would provide laptops to the sophomores, juniors and seniors in 2016.
As of Thursday, half the freshmen were able to take the laptops home, which is permitted after parents come to the school and watch a presentation on how the computers should be used for learning, potential misuse and Internet safety.
Several more presentations are scheduled in the school’s multipurpose room, including one at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, and more during parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 7 and 8.
Parents can buy insurance that “covers everything” for $20 a year, Dufour said.
Developing policies for laptops has been a lot of work for teachers and others at the high school, Dufour said. “The technology people have been really patient,” he said. “My hat’s off to them. We’ve never done anything on this scale before.”
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