September 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KCK Board of Education Votes to Let Students Take Laptops Home

The Kansas City, Kansas Board of Education voted at their meeting last night to approve a change in Board policy that will allow high school students to checkout the new laptop computers which are being leased for each high school student. This will allow students to use their laptop computers 24/7, and extend their learning. The checkout policy that the Board approved is similar to existing policies for checking out musical instruments and athletic equipment.

The Board vote culminates a months-long planning process that has involved numerous instructional, technology and administrative staff, along with members of the Board. With this historic vote, Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools becomes the first school district in the Kansas City metropolitan area to acquire laptop computers for all of its high school students, and the first to allow students to use those laptops at home.

According to Dr. Cynthia Lane, Assistant to the Superintendent for Business and Instructional Support Services, "With the ability to check out laptops, students will engage in higher levels of critical thinking, work to close their own learning gaps, become productive and creative students ready to exit high school college- and career-ready."

Beginning next week, parent information meetings will be held at each high school. During these meetings, parents will learn about the results from the pilot project that was completed this summer, receive an overview of how the laptops fit into the district's vision for educating 21st Century learners, review the rules and regulations contained in the Acceptable Use Policy that all parents and students must agree to, and learn about the care and use of the machines. Finally, parents will have an opportunity to pay the mandatory $50 per year insurance fee that will cover loss or damage to the machines. (Students who qualify for free/reduced lunch will pay a reduced fee of $25, and for families that cannot afford the reduced fee, students will be able to do community service in order to pay off the fee.)

In addition, parents will receive information at the meetings about the new School Loop program, which has been adopted across the District, and will enable direct on-line communication with parents and families. School Loop will allow parents to communicate directly with teachers via e-mail, review class and homework assignments, and view student grades.

The parent meetings are scheduled as follows:

The rollout of the laptops to each high school will begin at the end of October, and continue into early November. Additional information about the Laptops for Learning program can be found by clicking on the "laptop" icon on the district home page, www.kckps.org.