Many students at Thomas A. Edison CTE High School were left waiting for months to receive a new or repaired Chromebook, forcing them to find alternative ways to complete their school work.
The DOE’s mandate requiring all students to use school-issued Chromebooks has created significant challenges. Due to a large number of unusable Chromebooks, the computer lab is unable to keep up with the demand.
This also pairs badly with the new cell phone and electronic ban issued by Gov. Hochul this past fall. This affects many students with limited technological access, hindering their ability to complete assignments and fully participate in their classes.
Mr. Kalloo, a CTE teacher at Edison who manages Chromebooks, gave insight to the school’s Chromebook situation.
“We were a one-to-one school since COVID, so to be honest with you, the workload didn’t really change for us because the majority of our students already had devices. We’ve been doing this since 2020,” Kalloo said.
At Edison, all students have a Chromebook, but the difference is with the condition of these Chromebooks.
“A lot of the devices that come into me are physically damaged,” Mr. Kallo explained. “Students are dropping them, the hinges are breaking, the screens are falling apart. A lot of it is student-centered issues. The reason they’re backlogged is because they need to get fixed in terms of hardware, and you have to order parts.”
Software issues are handled quicker than hardware. “Hardware problems, two to three weeks software problems are resolved in a day or two,” Mr.Kalloo said. “Anything software, our team in-house handles it pretty timely.”
Emerald Stokes, a junior at Edison, explained that the issue began before Thanksgiving break. “My Chromebook broke before Thanksgiving break. I waited until we got back from winter break for it to get fixed,” the student said.
Being without a device caused big problems academically. “Not having a laptop affected me a lot because I didn’t have a laptop at home, so I couldn’t complete my work. I started to fail classes, which pushed me back a lot. Plus, by the time I got it back, it was too late to make up the work,” Stokes said.
She had difficulty receiving support from the school. “No, I didn’t get help until after the damage was done. My mother and I emailed the school multiple times for help, and all they told us was to wait and keep checking in,” the student said.
Some students have been without a Chromebook for a long time like Nathaniel Zamora, a freshman at Thomas A. Edison, has been without a Chromebook since September, all the way until the first week of January, leaving him without a Chromebook for nearly the entirety of the Fall semester. He relied on his classmates to look at the lesson materials.
“So in the classroom, where Ms. Fitz would be absent and post stuff online, I wouldn’t be able to do it at all,” Nathaniel said. During class time, he had little to do. “So in between, I’d just be reading my independent reading book or not doing anything. But then when I get home, I’d be able to do it,” Zamora said.
He also added that his device at home was slow, making him miss some things. He checked on the condition of his Chromebook. “Yeah, definitely. But sometimes when I go downstairs, there’s a lot of things going on,” Zamora added.
Jeico Lopez, a sophomore at Edison, said that his Chromebook stopped working due to a screen issue. “My Chromebook’s screen wasn’t working, so it took a while for me to get it back.” For work, Lopez said, “I had to do most of my work on paper in school, and at home I just used my PC.”
In addition, on days when his teacher was absent and posted assignments online. “If I ever needed my Chromebook, like to look at sub work, then I just did it at home,” Lopez said.
Although it was inconvenient, Lopez said the situation did not severely impact him academically. “It wasn’t too bad since I didn’t really need to use my Chromebook that much in class,” he said.
Government Technology reported that Richland 1 Superintendent Todd Walker acknowledged the district’s laptop shortage, “We fully understand the importance of laptops in supporting student learning, and we recognize the impact this shortage has on our students’ academics. This is not acceptable.”
Students rely on their Chromebooks every day to complete assignments, participate in class, and stay organized. Taking responsibility for their technology ensures that everyone has the tools they need to succeed.
“I think if we took more pride in the devices that we have, it would last us a lot longer,” Kalloo said.
