The Wauseon Exempted Village School District is launching a curricular/technology initiative for the 2014-2015 school year with the support of our Board of Education. The board recently approved the expenditure for hardware and curricular purchases necessary for this implementation. The district will not have to use general fund dollars as we plan to utilize a portion of the remaining Ohio School Facility Commission’s closeout funding that was finalized with the Ohio Department of Education in the summer of 2013. These funds were also used to in the past to prepare each building in the school district with wireless capability.
Mr. Curt Crew, Technology Coordinator, and Mrs. Tina Jones, Curriculum Director, have spent this year planning for this initiative with the assistance of the technology transition team, made up of teachers from throughout the district. The district will utilize Chromebooks based on the economic nature of the devices and the “free licensing” operating system. The district also intends to purchase digital licenses and utilize free, online instructional materials whenever possible. Starting in the fall of 2014, the district will significantly reduce paper usage and printer operational costs with the elimination of the majority of the printers in the school district.
Students attending Wauseon High School and Wauseon Middle School will be provided their own (1:1) Chromebook Device to use at school and at home for their studies. All 6-12 students will be responsible for the care of the device and will also be responsible for a per year Insurance Protective Fund Payment of $50 designed to fund accidental damage for the student’s device.
As part of this curriculum/technology improvement plan, the district will additionally provide Chromebooks at a ratio of approximately 1 device to every 2 students in Grades 3-5 (1:2) and approximately 1 device to every 3 students in Grades K – 2 (1:3). The elementary school and primary school devices will be shared by teams of classrooms and all of the devices will remain at school.