R.Zaragoza
05-25-2011, 10:51am
Updated: Wednesday, 25 May 2011, 5:48 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 10:20 PM EDT
ASHBURNHAM (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Parents in Ashburnham are questioning a school proposal to buy 150 new iPads for children in kindergarten.
The idea is for the school district to purchase 150 iPads for children to use in class. Parents would be given the option to lease them for 25 dollars a month for two years. At the end of the two year term, the parents would own them.
Some question if this is the best use of taxpayer money. Catherine Adair has children in school at Briggs Elementary. She tells FOX 25, "We have no Vice Principal. We have a very bare bones staff. I don't think kindergartners having iPads is the best expenditure of taxpayer money."
PTA member Meredith Fagan had questions about those children whose parents can't afford the 25 dollars a month. "We are in a public school. We can't have one person bring it home and one student not bring it home. It's just not fair," she told FOX 25.
The superintendent, Dr. Michael Zapantis, says it's still a work in progress. He says the 20-25 thousand dollars to pay for these would come from already existing funds that currently go toward leasing desktop computers. "We still may be working out some of the details budgetarily so that folks who cannot afford it will still have access to be able to take some of those iPads home," said Dr. Zapantis.
So why kindergarteners? He says the idea is to start with the youngest kids, then eventually move up to the higher grades. "What we see in the iPad is the tool of the future that students can use in the classroom to expand their learning experiences."
Read more: iPads for kindergarteners? (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/ipads-for-kindergarteners-20110524_13362102#ixzz1NNbndSYJ)
Published : Tuesday, 24 May 2011, 10:20 PM EDT
ASHBURNHAM (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Parents in Ashburnham are questioning a school proposal to buy 150 new iPads for children in kindergarten.
The idea is for the school district to purchase 150 iPads for children to use in class. Parents would be given the option to lease them for 25 dollars a month for two years. At the end of the two year term, the parents would own them.
Some question if this is the best use of taxpayer money. Catherine Adair has children in school at Briggs Elementary. She tells FOX 25, "We have no Vice Principal. We have a very bare bones staff. I don't think kindergartners having iPads is the best expenditure of taxpayer money."
PTA member Meredith Fagan had questions about those children whose parents can't afford the 25 dollars a month. "We are in a public school. We can't have one person bring it home and one student not bring it home. It's just not fair," she told FOX 25.
The superintendent, Dr. Michael Zapantis, says it's still a work in progress. He says the 20-25 thousand dollars to pay for these would come from already existing funds that currently go toward leasing desktop computers. "We still may be working out some of the details budgetarily so that folks who cannot afford it will still have access to be able to take some of those iPads home," said Dr. Zapantis.
So why kindergarteners? He says the idea is to start with the youngest kids, then eventually move up to the higher grades. "What we see in the iPad is the tool of the future that students can use in the classroom to expand their learning experiences."
Read more: iPads for kindergarteners? (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/ipads-for-kindergarteners-20110524_13362102#ixzz1NNbndSYJ)