Samsung Chromebooks Coming for Students

From New Haven Unified School District

After several months of “discussion and compromise,” the Samsung Chromebook has been selected as the technology device to be purchased for New Haven Unified students as part of the Race to the Top-District grant, District RTTT-D Director Lisa Metzinger reports. 

In December, New Haven was named one of 16 nationwide winners in the U.S. Department of Education’s RTTT-D competition. The District will receive more than $29 million over the next 4 1/2 years, to personalize student learning, improve student achievement and educator effectiveness, close achievement gaps, and prepare all students to succeed in college and careers. 

Part of the grant provides for notebook computers for students. “The device selected for grades 3-12 is the Samsung Chromebook,” Ms. Metzinger reports.

All teachers will receive an HP Chromebook by the start of next school year.  Teachers who are part of the Year 1 Roll Out will receive the device as part of the Summer Professional Development. A decision about the K-2 devices will be made next year, once we see how well the Chromebooks work in grades 3-5, and if they would be able to work with our youngest students. 

“The student device roll out will take place over the next three years,” Ms. Metzinger continued. “The Year 1 Roll Out includes all sites, as each school will receive a certain number of devices. The principals, with input from their site leadership team and school staff, will determine how the number of devices allocated to their site should best be rolled out.  The selection of which teachers will be involved is based on specific criteria … Once sites determine their plan for roll out, principals will assist teachers with enrolling in the summer professional development.  The Teacher Selection Guiding Principles are: 

• Teachers who are willing to collaborate with other teachers;
• Teachers willing to commit to Summer Professional Development;
• Teachers who are willing to coach/mentor other teachers;
• Teachers who are willing to let others learn from their experiences.

“We send out a big thank you to all members of the Technology Committee, who spent many hours on this work,” Ms. Metzinger concluded. “It was not an easy task, but they rose to the occasion to all of our benefit.”