An influx of 850 devices helps the Newberg School District even out the distribution of technology across the schools

When the Newberg School District had its technology department audited by an outside source last year, one of the nine priorities that arose was to develop a plan to equitably distribute technology across the district.

The problem was exacerbated over the summer, when security concerns forced the district to remove a number of old computers from the system, causing the device-to-student ratio to drop significantly at several schools.

However, the district purchased 850 devices in August, which helped shrink the gaps between schools and make progress toward its goal of providing 1-to-1 access to technology for students.

“We’re trying to get the last of those devices, some Chromebooks and iPads, employed and made available for teachers to use in their classrooms,” instruction technology coordinator Luke Neff said. “I’m hoping once we have all those devices employed and put some systems in place, I’ll be able to take a more active role in coming alongside teachers to help with technology innovation and professional learning.”

Neff and chief IT officer Jamie McFarland updated the school board on the technology’s progress in light of the audit at its Oct. 7 meeting, explaining that for their purposes a device refers to computers (desktop and laptop) and tablets that are available for instructional use.

After taking the older devices offline, Neff said that the two schools with the lowest student-to-device rations came in at 0.24, or one device for every four students, while the highest school was 0.6.

After the influx of devices, the lowest school is at 0.48 and seven schools have a 0.6 ratio, lifting the average of the district to just less than 0.6.

“The way we funded it, we wanted to get all those numbers close together,” Neff said.

One of the nine priorities that came out of the audit was restructuring the tech department to better integrate technology and instruction, which led to Neff’s hiring in July.

“We have a small tech department compared to other similar districts, so we need to be strategic in the way we go about planning and carrying out technology-based projects,” Neff said. “We need to make sure we’re picking out the most important work to be doing as a district and finding the most efficient ways to integrate technology to facilitate learning.”

Neff said the idea of reaching a 1-to-1 student-to-device ratio was on the table before he joined the department, but that the district’s goal when it comes to getting technology in the hands of students is much broader.

He refers to it as digital conversion, which is the transition from a static, unchanging rigid curriculum to a dynamic digital one. Reaching a 1-to-1 ratio is one goal of digital conversion and one tool to measure its progress, but for Neff it’s about more than simply providing one device for every student.

“It’s about making sure we’re using technology to enhance the best learning methods and that we’re using it to actively create dynamic, customizable, connected learning opportunities for students,” he said. “We want our students to have the opportunity to engage in cooperative, collaborative digital learning experiences on a daily basis.”

Neff said that achieving 1-to-1 is a few years off, but that in the meantime, he and the department are working on multiple fronts to address other priorities raised in the audit, including updating technology for teachers, improving professional development for instructional technology, aligning K-12 technology standards and developing a long-range plan for the district.

He said the motto of the department is, “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything,” a quote from Dwight Eisenhower.

To that end, he has been researching how other districts have tackled these problems and laying the groundwork for future improvements by developing district-wide support systems, like for how the district manages iPads.

He said he hopes to move on to working in classrooms and with teachers as soon as he can, but is taking a patient approach, in part because he knows he has the support of district superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza, assistant superintendent Dave Parker and the school board.

“The two times I’ve gone in front of the board and talked about it, they’ve been very excited and have asked what they need to do to make this happen,” he said. “They are very interested in seeing this get put into place for our students.”

Written by: Seth Gordon