Foundation provides Google computers

The Sisters Schools Foundation came through with a much-needed purchase for Sisters Middle School with the addition of 36 Google Chromebooks for use by the 400-plus students there.

Each year the foundation elicits requests from the teaching staff at each school in the district to help meet educational needs not covered with money from the general school fund. This year, the teachers at Sisters Middle School decided set aside individual wishes in order to pool together on the larger request for the Chromebooks, which will benefit all students.

Treasure Lewis, who is a member of the Sisters Schools Foundation, joined the middle school staff for the unveiling of the new computers.

"It felt really good to us as a committee to honor this request because we could see clearly how these additional computers will touch every single student in the school," she said. "We were impressed by the staff's willingness to pull together this single request for the benefit of all."

The foundation covered $12,000 of the nearly $16,000 cost of the computers, with the remainder coming from the school district's technology budget.

The additional computers will relieve stress on the school's technology resources, especially since all four grade levels need computers for taking Oregon Assessment Tests during the school year, according to Stewart.

"When we are in testing season it becomes virtually impossible for classroom teachers to access computer labs," said Stewart. "Having these mobile classroom computers allows incredible flexibility for our teachers."

The Chromebooks are wireless and can be used nearly anywhere in the middle school building.

Chromebooks are touted as money-savers compared to traditional laptops and desktops, because they require little, if any, maintenance, according to Todd Pilch, director of the school district's technology systems.

Chromebooks are smaller than a traditional laptop, but bigger than a tablet. One of their notable advantages is that they boot up in about eight seconds, which saves class time.

"These are lightweight, fully functional computers that allow students to store all their documents, presentations, and messages on the Internet cloud, which means they are then available to the student from any computer at the school or at home," he said.

The middle school has two computer labs in the building as well as a classroom set of laptops, in addition to the new Chromebooks.

"We are extremely thankful for the Sisters Schools Foundation," said Stewart. "We couldn't do without them."