In fall 2018 and early 2019, Lakota became one of the largest school systems in the region to give laptops to middle and senior high school students for use both in school and at home.
This school year, students in grades 3-5 will join sixth graders in having access at school to the special designed laptops – Chromebooks – adding about 3,800 students to the district’s total of students with such digital access to classroom lessons and instructional research for their learning.
The Chromebooks are not retail-grade laptops but rather specifically designed and restricted to school learning and research features designed to be used only for class work.
The expansion is part of Lakota’s larger digital learning strategy, said Superintendent Matt Miller, to expand options for students.
“We excited to expand this opportunity to our younger grade levels,” said Miller.
“Getting devices in the hands of our students continues to be critical to our mission of providing a personalized, future-ready learning experience to every single child,” he said.
Lakota students in grades one to 12 will begin a staggered class schedule start for the 2021-2022 school year – including students enrolled in all virtual learning from home - on Aug. 18 and Aug. 19 according to alphabetical listing of students last names.
In January 2019, Lakota expanded its laptop program by distributing about 4,000 laptops to Lakota East and Lakota West high school students.
Talawanda Schools was the first in Butler County to provide laptops to some of its students.
“Our one-to-one (laptop to student) program is all about empowering students to take control of their own learning and start to understand and view technology not just as a device, but as a critical tool in their education,” said Miller.
Lakota officials said the new round of laptops for elementary students could also be employed for at-home learning should remote learning be necessary, as it has been periodically since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and subsequent spikes in coronavirus positive tests among students and school staffers.
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