Cape school board to vote on laptop purchase

After more than a year of research and meetings, the Cape Girardeau School Board is poised to purchase laptops for its high school students.

The board will consider action at its meeting Tuesday on the 1:1 initiative to put laptops into the hands of all high school students. A work session is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the regular meeting at 6 p.m. at the administration building, 301 N. Clark Ave.

Assistant superintendent for academic services Sherry Copeland said the 1:1 initiative "opens up the world to our students." Students will be able to work on homework and projects anytime, because they'll have access to information.

"There's so much instruction available on the Web; it just makes sense," Copeland said. "Kids now are so technologically advanced. ... The days of a teacher on a stage lecturing are over. ... The easiest way to engage children now is through technology."

The Student Device Selection Committee, formed to determine what computer would best meet district needs, chose a convertible tablet -- which can be used as a tablet or a laptop -- from SenecaData for $345 per unit. SenecaData was among 10 companies that submitted 21 bids.

If the board approves, Copeland said approximately 1,300 ASUS devices will be ordered -- about 1,200 for students and 100 for teachers for an estimated $520,000.

The 1,300 devices include extra laptops for loaners in case repairs are needed, Copeland said.

The $520,000 includes $50 per unit for updated storage capacity, and a $5 per device preconfiguring charge to configure the computers to district needs, district technology coordinator Brian Hall said.

The motion Tuesday night will ask the board for approval to authorize superintendent James Welker to negotiate a lease-purchase agreement through US Bank to provide financing for the computers, and to execute the contract on behalf of the board, meeting agenda supplemental documents said.

Copeland said each device also will have a sleeve to protect it and be etched with the district logo and yet-to-be determined language indicating the devices are the property of the Cape Girardeau School District.

The target rollout date for high school students in grades nine through 12 is Jan. 7. Tentatively, the district plans to distribute the laptops to eighth-graders in August 2014, but may add seventh-graders, as well.

Copeland said the 15-member Student Device Selection Committee, made up of students, teachers, administrators and technology personnel, made its decision last week.

"I'll bring one to the meeting Tuesday," Copeland said. The ASUS model selected by the committee won't be publicly available until Oct. 18.

The district is now finalizing its 1:1 handbook in preparation for parent meetings in October. The meetings will cover laptop etiquette, expectations of students and parents, insurance for the devices and how the laptops will affect instruction.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.