LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Clark County School District (CCSD) has been sharing educational resources online since the beginning of the school closures on March 16 and acknowledged concerns about barriers for all students to access the technology necessary for distant learning.
On March 23, CCSD began implementing its distance learning strategies, and continues to build on plans to deploy devices to students. A soft launch on March 27 at Spring Valley High School was utilized to identify and resolve potential logistical issues.
While high school seniors have been identified as a priority population, the District has plans to reach all students in need of a device. Schools will notify parents directly when distribution events are happening at their sites. A detailed logistical guide has been issued to principals to ensure distribution is successful and follows standards of health and safety to address COVID-19.
As CCSD’s strategy for deploying devices to students continues to evolve, careful attention is being applied to assess various types of devices to ensure the District can operate and sustain a manageable set of standards and support criteria. The priority right now is the distribution of Google Chromebooks as CCSD has the capacity to apply filtering, theft recovery and monitoring, and application support.
The District has ordered 46,000 additional Chromebooks by reallocating federal funds to support our families in need, and is also in the process of utilizing its current Chromebook inventory available in schools. Additionally, CCSD has worked with telecommunication partners to address the connectivity divide. However, this still leaves as many as 72,000 children in our community without the tools necessary for their continued learning.
Organizations or individuals interested in helping CCSD to acquire and deploy devices and connectivity to students can support the CCSD Technology Fund created in collaboration with the Public Education Foundation (PEF).
