McKeesport Area School District: U.S. Steel donates $25K for Chromebook purchases
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
U.S. Steel this week helped McKeesport Area School District ensure it can remain a 1:1-capable school district.
U.S. Steel Irvin Works plant manager Don German on Tuesday presented Superintendent Dr. Mark Holtzman and Kristen James, the district’s public relations, transportation, homeless and foster care liaison, with a $25,000 check to purchase Google Chromebooks.
In the context of education, 1:1 computing or capability refers to academic institutions providing each student with an electronic device, such as an iPad, laptop, electronic tablet or Google Chromebook to access the internet, digital course materials, grades and digital textbooks. The devices are typically used by students both in school and at home and are returned at the end of the school year.
While the district had a limited number of devices for student-use prior to the onset of the pandemic, it wasn’t fully 1:1 capable because it didn’t own enough usable devices to distribute to each individual student and teacher, and it couldn’t ensure students had a reliable internet connection from their home or other locations outside of the confines of MASD property.
When an order from Gov. Tom Wolf and the state Department of Education was handed down in March requiring all schools in Pennsylvania to shutter, the district distributed a single 1:1 device to each family on a grade-by-grade basis. The devices had to be returned at the end of the school year. MASD also set up high-powered Wi-Fi hotspots around district facilities and select parts of the community in the spring so students who didn’t have an internet connection at home could access online learning platforms and offered students the ability to complete assignments via pencil and paper packets.
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