LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Families of Jefferson County Public Schools students will be able to start requesting Chromebooks Monday, according to an announcement from the district.
JCPS is giving out at least 30,000 Chromebooks to students across the county as the district prepares to start school virtually on Aug. 25.
An online form to request a Chromebook will be available on the JCPS website starting at 9 a.m. on Aug. 10. The district is also giving out 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots for families without internet access. Families can use the Chromebook request form to request a hotspot.
Dr. Kermit Belcher, the Chief Information Officer for JCPS, said families can request multiple devices if there is more than one student in the household.
When the Jefferson County Board of Education voted to start the school year with non-traditional instruction (NTI) in July, the importance of technology access was addressed. Dr. Belcher said the district would like to get to a place where there is an instructional device for every student who needs it, but it hasn’t reached that goal yet.
Dr. Belcher also said the distribution of hotspots is just a short-term solution and the district is working with community partners to help develop long-term solutions for internet access.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, JCPS is starting the 2020-21 school year with at least six weeks of virtual instruction that the district is calling NTI 2.0. In July, Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said the goal of NTI 2.0 is to build upon what worked in the spring, when the pandemic forced schools to shut down, while also creating a more equitable and personalized plan for students.
For more information on the JCPS’s back-to-school plan, visit the district’s website.
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