Smart Schools Review Board Approves BCSD Smart Schools Investment Plan
Earlier today (January 13), the Brewster Central School District’s Smart School Investment Plan (SSIP) was approved by the NYS review committee. The committee, consisting of the NYS Director of the Budget, the NYS Education Commissioner and the SUNY Chancellor approved sixty other public school plans, including ten in the Lower Hudson Region.
The district had been waiting months for approval of the SSIP so it can begin purchasing Chromebooks and other resources. For many teachers and students in the district, this is the moment they have been waiting for, and the district can now move forward with its planned purchases. The purchases are aligned with the goal of providing all students with access to technology on demand, with a 1:1 ratio for grades 2-12 over the next two years. Students in grades 1-6 will have extensive access to Chromebooks in the classrooms. Students in grades 7-12 will be provided a District owned Chromebook and case which they may take home after school hours and teachers will be provided a District owned Chromebook.
Now that the plan has been approved, the district will initiate the first round of its purchases. Budget codes, processes for ordering, configuring, distributing–as well as associated logistics–have already been addressed and are ready for implementation. Meetings have been ongoing with principals to address the specifics for each school. In some cases, the technology may not be available until February (i.e. Yoga model Chromebooks which double as tablets). The delivery and distribution of various technologies will depend on what is being ordered, the availability of the products, and other factors that we cannot control. The Department of Technology and Innovation will provide regular progress updates.