Yesterday we met with Superintendent Kim, Jennifer Hix - Director of Curriculum, and David Thurlby - Director of Technology. We all listened to each other and agree there need to be changes. We are asking that the district put limitations in place to prevent overuse of technology in our schools and for it to be intentional when it is used. We understand this change won't happen overnight and there will be many discussions about finding the right balance of technology in our classrooms as a collaboration with district administration.
We have received emails from many of you and appreciate you sharing your perspectives. Many middle school parents shared their concerns about Chromebook usage in the lunchroom. We brought it up in our meeting and Superintendent Kim told us honestly that he can't speak to that and would look into that. We appreciate the honest response; in our meeting we agreed that this movement is not meant to be divisive or accusatory.
An important first step is to remove access to youtube on student devices. We agree that teachers should still have access for teaching purposes. If you feel strongly about preventing Youtube access on Chromebooks please email the school board with this form. It doesn't have to be a long statement but please be respectful and share your thoughts.
We received a message yesterday from a parent in Geneva about starting a similar movement in their district. This change will happen because all of the research supports it and parents realize the importance of limiting technology in our schools. We are looking forward to working more with the district as I do think we had a productive meeting yesterday. Add your voice to the conversation by contacting the board, reading the research and involving other BPS 101 parents.
Superintendent Kim shared this event information yesterday - a virtual presentation about technology use. Starts at Noon and again at 7PM. GPS Parent Series - Technology
Keep an eye out in the news in the coming weeks about cell phone usage in schools. Gov Pritzker will be signing a bill about cell phone use, SB2427 .
Thanks for your support!