Sep 29, 2014 By Susan Schmeichel 2 min read

The Bethel Park School District’s 1-to-1 Technology Learning Implementation is off to a good start, administrators said.

“The first day of school, kids came in with their Chromebooks ready to go,” said Independence Middle School Principal David Muench.

Muench and Ron Reyer, technology director, updated school board members during a recent board meeting.

Last month, as phase one of a four year imitative, the district purchased 750 Chromebooks for students in seventh and eighth grades. The students are able to take the laptops, which they carry from class-to-class, home with them each evening.

The district’s plan is to provide one-to-one computing devices for all students in grades three through 12 and computing devices on classroom carts for students in kindergarten through second grade. The cost of purchasing the technology and the accompanying accessories, such as cases and carts, was expected to be $1.3 million over four years.

Later in the meeting, board members approved the purchase of 56 Chromebook carts at a total cost of $42,697.76. Those computers will be used in the classroom by students in the elementary schools and Neil Armstrong Middle School.

The district’s staff development efforts in 2014-2015 will be directed toward getting the teachers prepared to effectively implement the technology initiative.

Teachers at IMS are steadily incorporating the new technology into their daily classroom lessons, Muench said.