Pencils, Notebooks, Crayons and ... Laptops?

With all of the talk of contentious budgets every spring, it should be no surprise to parents in Monroe that they are increasingly being asked to foot the bill for supplies used at school for their children.

Notebooks, folders, even paper towels and anti bacterial wipes are standard items on supply lists for Monroe students each fall. Each year, the lists grow longer and more detailed: a certain type of composition book, perhaps a certain brand of glue or size of PostIt note. As the children progress in their academic career, the items start to get pricier and more difficult to find. Ask any parent of a middle aged child where and how they obtained their child's prescribed calculator, and how much it set them back. 

When I began my teaching career in 1993, I remember hoping for a 50% return rate on the one item I asked parents to provide for my classroom: a box of tissues. I couldn't ask for anything academic from my students, I had been told by my colleagues, because I couldn't require parents to pay for anything that would be necessary for a child to function in my classroom.

After several years of paying for necessary items that my district could not afford to provide out of my own pocket, I finally broke down and asked my middle schoolers to supply their own pencils and notebooks.

Pencils and notebooks seem almost quaint these days in learning circles. Now, one of the latest buzzwords in public school circles is something called “Bring Your Own Technology.” The idea behind this trend is the same as my requests for notebooks and pencils; many schools are now allowing parents to supply necessary technology for their children at school, in order to save dollars and extend the ability for schools to have 1:1 technology for students. The idea was brought forth last week at parent orientation meetings for the STEM Academy. 

While public school systems cannot require students to purchase pricey iPads or netbooks for use in school, BYOT is seen as a way for districts to bring down the costs of 21st century learning to budget conscious school districts. Since many parents have already invested in such technology for their children, school systems can simply purchase a much smaller number of pieces of technology. These can be checked out during the school day to those students who have not brought their own items to school.

Monroe Public Schools plans on piloting the BYOT program to students at Masuk High School (this would include students attending the STEM Academy on site there as well) next year through implementation of a wireless network in the facility.

Will this new push bring more accessibility to the Information Superhighway in a cost effective way, or will it lead to an educational version of the haves vs. the have nots? I am not entirely sure, myself. But with so many expenditures in school systems coming under fire by taxpayers, it was likely only a matter of time before parents were expected to foot the bill for these items as well.