EmpowerED 1:1 Info & FAQs

The Enablement Academy has created this webpage to provide additional information and resources for parents and students. Updates are sent via ParentSquare to teachers, staff, parents, and students. Content is also shared via this website. 

For a student to take a Chromebook home, the student or parent/guardian must pay the annual $30 insurance fee and sign the Responsible Use Policy (parents should have signed the Acceptable Use Policy at the beginning of the school year with back-to-school paperwork). The insurance fee will be applied to each student's account and can be paid in one or two payments in ParentSquare. The insurance fee allows students to take the device to and from school and covers any type of device malfunction, including:

• Hardware

• Accidental Damage (drops/spills)

• Cracked Screen

• Liquid Submersion

• Power Surge (lightning)

1:1 programs provide for a much richer learning environment. Computers provide teachers with much more flexibility in how they teach, offering opportunities for personalized and differentiated instruction, flipped lessons, collaborative projects, and blended courses, to name a few. With a personal device, students will have continual access to documents, research, and content. With the integration of Google Workspace for Education, our teachers/students can receive immediate feedback, collaborate, and access documents.

1:1 increases instructional time by reducing the time spent using computer labs or computer carts. It also resolves logistical issues and eliminates the need to schedule learning around technology availability.

ParentSquare USD and the Enablement Academy are a Google Workspace for Education district. This allows teachers and students to use Google’s cloud-based services such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides from any device in school or at home. We have already been using Chromebooks simultaneously with great success. They integrate seamlessly with Google Workspace tools, are user-friendly, and are priced to allow the Enablement Academy to move to a 1:1 environment. The Chromebook needs very little maintenance as most resources are accessed directly from the internet, and updates are quick and automatic. Student work on the Chromebook automatically saves to the Google cloud and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection.

 Each student will receive a Dell 3100 Series Chromebook, a power adapter, and a protective, always-on carrying case.

Yes! Students at Enablement Academy will be allowed to take their Chromebooks home. They will need to charge their Chromebooks each night so they are ready to use for the entire school day. 

If you feel uncomfortable with your student taking the device home, please contact the Library to arrange for the student to store the Chromebook in the building rather than taking it home; it will need to be checked out at the start of each day and checked in at the end of each school day.

The Chromebooks are labeled with a ParentSquare USD asset tag and a manufacturer serial number label. At deployment time, the Chromebook is checked out to the student, and the information on these labels is associated with the student using our inventory tracking system. If there is ever a question of identification on a device, campus technology support team members can look up the association using this same web-based program. 

Before a Chromebook will be issued to the student, parents and students must complete the Device Agreement form as well as pay the mandatory non-refundable insurance fee. 

The addition of an annual student device fee per student helps offset a portion of the cost and provides insurance protection for families against additional repair costs. If there were no fee, each repair instance would be the responsibility of the student or parent/guardian. Depending on the damage, the repair cost for one “accident” could easily exceed the annual fee.

This insurance protection covers any type of device malfunction, including:

• Hardware
• Accidental Damage (drops/spills)
• Cracked Screen
• Liquid Submersion
• Power Surge (lightning)
• Theft
• Vandalism

A Chromebook or any of its accessories that are lost or intentionally damaged is the financial responsibility of the student and the parent/guardian involved. The annual fee does not cover these situations.

If a Chromebook is damaged (non-intentionally) or determined to have a factory defect, the device will be repaired or replaced by the Enablement Academy. While this takes place, a loaner Chromebook will be checked out to the student. The student will be allowed to take this device home. The loaner device is subject to the same rules as the student's normal Chromebook.

A Chromebook or any of its accessories that are lost or intentionally damaged is the financial responsibility of the student and the parent/guardian involved. The provided insurance policy does not cover these situations. It will be at the discretion of the Enablement Academy administration to determine who is at fault. The user will not be given another device or accessory to use until the replacement cost has been paid to the school.

In the event of theft, vandalism, or other criminal acts, the student/parent/guardian MUST file a report with the local police department and submit a copy to the school. The device will be replaced in accordance with the insurance policy guidelines. Provided the school has received a copy of the police report, a loaner Chromebook will be checked out to the student. The student will be allowed to take this device home. The loaner device is subject to the same rules as the student's normal Chromebook.

Students are expected to charge their Chromebooks nightly at home and bring them to school fully charged. If one is available, students who do not bring a charged Chromebook back to school may be issued a loaner device for the day, which cannot be taken home. Loaners may not be available, and your student may be without the Chromebook for the day. They may be able to charge the Chromebook in the library during lunch or and off/period.

Students who do not bring a Chromebook to school may be issued a loaner device for the day, which cannot be taken home. Loaners may not be available, and your student may be without the Chromebook for the day.

All Chromebooks are supplied with the latest build of Google Chrome Operating System (OS), and many other applications useful in an educational environment. The Chrome OS will automatically install updates when the computer is shut down and restarted. Chromebooks seamlessly integrate with the Google Workspace for Education suite of productivity and collaboration tools. This suite includes Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Drawings, Forms, and Sites. All work is stored in the cloud.

From time to time, the school may add software applications for use in a particular course. This process will be automatic with virtually no impact on students. Applications that are no longer needed will automatically be removed by the school as well.

Yes. Students are allowed to install district and school-approved Chrome web apps and extensions from the Chrome Web Store. The list of apps available is limited to those approved by the District. 

No. Each Chromebook is owned by the Enablement Academy, and any decorating/personalizing of the device (tape, stickers, markers, etc.) will be considered vandalism. 

Yes. All Google applications have features that allow work to be shared between teachers and even classmates. Students can create documents, spreadsheets, drawings, photos, presentations, and even videos. Each item can be shared with a teacher prior to its due date. The teacher can then see the work on their own computer to review or grade it for the student. 

Yes, if your location has a Wi-Fi network, the devices will have the same filtered web access as they would at school. 

The city library offers free wireless Internet, as do numerous businesses throughout the area. Also, students can use the library before and after school.

If you don’t have a Wi-Fi network at home, students can still use the Chromebook, but in a limited capacity. Some applications will work “offline” (such as Google Drive), but content saved on the device will not be backed up online until the device has an Internet connection. Offline access needs to be set up prior to going home for the day.

To enable Google Drive offline, each individual user must log in to their Drive account, visit Drive settings (look for the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen), and check the box that says “Enable offline access.” A copy of your entire Google Drive account will be downloaded locally on your Chromebook for use when you go offline. These files will be automatically synced when you reconnect to a network.

The District utilizes an Internet content filter that complies with the federally mandated Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). All Chromebooks, regardless of physical location (in or out of school) and Internet connection, will have Internet activity filtered. Despite the filter, the District cannot guarantee that all controversial or inappropriate materials will be blocked. Parental monitoring of student Chromebook use at home is encouraged.

No. All devices and accessories will be returned to the Enablement Academy during the final weeks of school, on a date to be determined, so they can be checked for serviceability and stored for the summer. 

Yes.

Upon graduation, students will have the option to purchase their Chromebooks. For each year the insurance fee is paid, and no claims (broken screen, keyboard, etc.) are assessed, the $40 annual fee will be applied to this purchase price. Replacement of a Chromebook would forfeit the previous credits. If the student completed four years paying the insurance with no claims, then the purchase price would be $0. If a Chromebook was replaced during a year, the insurance payments from years one and two would not count toward the purchase of the new Chromebook. The chart below breaks down the cost to own the Chromebook depending on the amount of insurance paid without incident.