BOE approves new Chromebooks purchase
The Anderson County Board of Education voted to purchase new Chromebooks for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The board voted unanimously on Feb. 12 to spend $200,000 on these laptop computers from the general-purpose fund.
Wade Haney, director of technology for the school system said the Chromebooks have a useful classroom life of four years.
This year, the Chromebooks for the elementary school students are due for refreshing.
“The purpose of the Chromebooks is to enhance the learning experience of our elementary students, and many of our textbooks and resource materials are online, so they are used for direct instruction,” he told The Courier News.
Jo Williams made the motion, and Sherri Beaty seconded.
Sign Language Class
The school system is considering adding an American Sign Language class.
Kelly Myers, assistant director of schools, told The Courier News that staff will need to figure out how it fits into the student schedule before committing to adding it.
The issue came up after Matthew Tuxbury, youth service worker at Tennessee School for the Deaf, sent a letter requesting the district add the course.
He listed several benefits.
“It enhances cognitive skills, promotes cultural understanding and opens up new avenues for communication with the diverse members of our community, including those who are deaf and hard of hearing,” he stated.
He said the course could fulfill foreign language requirements and could help students with “real world situations and future careers from health care to customer service.”
