Par-Troy School District Providing iPads to All Incoming Freshmen

The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District will be arming the entire freshman class with iPads when they return to school in September.

“A lot of students in our nations already have smart devices and they use it in their life all the time,” said Barry Haines, Supervisor of District Technology. “This will help to show them there is a different way to use them in an academic setting.”

Each of the 575 students will receive the tablets as part of the district's technology initiative at freshman orientation on Sept. 4.

“Research supports students today learn best when they are actively involved in their education, said interim Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons. "The technology found in the iPad captures the interests of students in all academic levels.”

The district has given out more than 1,000 iPads to students in kindergarten through grade 12 in the past three years to provide new ways for students to take notes, organize and access classroom resources.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to show them how to use these in an engaging school environment,” said Haines.

An example, said Haines, was a lesson in which students took photos with the iPhoto app to recreate scenes from their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ideally, the district wishes to provide iPads to all grades within the next three to five years, he added.

“We are also checking out Chrome books for a small number of students,” he said. “We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Before students can receive their iPads several things must be done, Fitzsimons said in a letter distributed to the parents of incoming freshman.

Parents must:

• attend one of the parent/student iPad meetings in August

• sign the iPad user agreement, providing both student and parent/guardian signatures. This will be available at the August parent/guardian meeting.

• sign the 9th Grade Acceptable Use Policy for all incoming freshmen - while this was previously distributed, it will also be available at the August parent/guardian meeting.

Students will also have the option to use their personal iPads in class, however, they will also have to follow Acceptable Use Policy guidelines.

“While many of the specific applications (apps) we will be using are available for free, if a student elects to bring in his/her own iPad, the district will provide access to any paid apps needed for high school classes,” said Fitzsimons.

The school district will take care of equipment needing repairs but families will be responsible for loss or theft of the devices. Students must return iPads provided by the district at the end of the school year.

According to Fitzsimons, parents must attend one of the following orientations:

• Thursday August 15, at 10:00 a.m. in the PHHS auditorium