LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Families at Jefferson County Public Schools can request Chromebooks and data hotspots starting Monday, as Kentucky’s largest school district prepares to start the 2020-21 school year with at least six weeks of distance learning.
Superintendent Marty Pollio and other JCPS leaders announced Wednesday that 30,000 Chromebooks and 10,000 T-Mobile hotspots with unlimited data will be available for request on the district's website or by phone next week. Families that don’t have internet can call their children’s schools or the district’s 313-HELP hotline to request devices, they said.
“These are short-term solutions,” Pollio said, noting the findings of a recent KentuckianaWorks survey that found about 30% of local families lack access to high-speed internet.
“We’re going to all have to work together to make sure we find a way so that all students have access to connectivity and to a device, and it goes beyond a pandemic.”
In all, JCPS will distribute about 50,000 Chromebooks since the COVID-19 pandemic forced school districts across Kentucky to transition to distance learning in mid-March.
The district bought the 30,000 Chromebooks for more than $10 million and the 10,000 hotspots with a year of unlimited data for $2.4 million, according to the district. JCPS had budgeted part of the nearly $30 million it received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to cover such expenses.
Those Chromebooks will be available to families by the start of the school year on Aug. 25, Pollio said.
That may not have been the case if JCPS had waited to place its order.
“We might be waiting until September, October or even later to get those devices as many other districts around the country right now will be waiting well into the fall to get those,” Pollio said.
JCPS and a growing number of other school districts have chosen to start the 2020-21 school year with nontraditional instruction rather than returning to in-person classes.
To get the most out of the district’s “NTI 2.0” platform, digital access will be key. JCPS teachers will be expected to provide more live instruction during distance learning and develop individualized and project-based lessons, Chief Academic Officer Carmen Coleman said.
Students will also have access to “innovative digital resources” like online books with activities to engage students in their reading assignments, she said.
“It is not our goal for students to be sitting in front of a computer all day,” Coleman said. “We want to spark learning and creativity in this virtual space.”
To help bridge the “digital divide” in Jefferson County, Pollio said several community stakeholders have shown interest in opening learning hubs during distance learning. That will allow them to offer targeted support for students in small-group settings, he said.
“I believe anybody who steps up in our community to help children out is a positive,” Pollio said, who has also said the district is exploring the option of opening its own learning centers during nontraditional instruction.
Most of the district’s teachers will begin 10 days of professional development to prepare for the start of the school year starting Monday, with those who work at accelerated improvement schools getting an extra five days of training this week.
Pollio urged parents to update their contact information ahead of the 2020-21 school year and said the extra training time would allow schools to reach out to families. Kermit Belcher, the district’s chief information officer, said schools would be tasked with distributing Chromebooks and hotspots for their students.
Still, nontraditional instruction “is no substitute for in-person learning,” Pollio said.
“The relationships and supports that teachers are able to give to kids, that schools are able to give kids cannot be replaced in a virtual setting,” he said, noting that research suggests that achievement gaps can widen during distance learning. “… When we get back to in-person schooling, we’re going to have to be very intentional about plans for supporting kids and families over multiple years to eliminate those gaps.”
When JCPS will reopen for in-person classes remains to be seen. District leaders will consult with the health officials in late September to determine whether students can return to schools, he said.
Pollio said he would like to see daily COVID-19 cases decline, particularly among youths, and the local testing positivity rate decline before reopening JCPS schools.
Data from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness show a 7.4% COVID-19 positivity rate based on a seven-day rolling average.
“When we’re above 7% and it’s not dropping, that’s a real concern,” Pollio said.
He added that recent studies have shown those between the ages of 10 and 19 may be spreading COVID-19 at the same rates as adults.
“Nearly every school at JCPS has a 10- to 19-year-old within the school,” he said.
Go to https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/starting-2020-21-school-year-onward-together to learn more about the district's "NTI 2.0" plan.
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