MS Board of Education gives computers to school districts

CLAY COUNTY,Miss. (WCBI)- Students in the West Point School District will get brand new computers next week.

It’s part of the State Department of Education’s “Mississippi Connects” plan.

And the West Point Consolidated School District is among the first to get the grant.

According to the Mississippi Board of Education, over 300,000 orders for new devices have been purchased throughout the state.

With uncertainty during this time, those concerns shouldn’t reflect quality of education.

And state board members are providing students the necessary tools to succeed.

With distance learning now an option in school districts across the state, the Department of Education is making sure all students have access to the technology to help them succeed.

West Point students will be among the first to get new computers.

” We’ll be putting pre-K through 2 will have iPads, and 3rd grade thru 12th have Chromebooks,” said Technology Director Mechelle Welch.

The district’s Technology Director Michelle Welch says nearly 3,000 computers are being distributed to students.

” We have ordered 770 iPads and we will be receiving 2,261 Chromebooks and teachers will be receiving a device as well,” said Welch.

Welch says its all started with an application to qualify for the Mississippi Connects plan.

” Every school district had to apply and basically do an assurance that we are going to participate and we’re going to order the devices that we ask for. Students that won’t be able to have access to devices are now going to have the same advantages as other students that may have a device.

State lawmakers set aside $200,000,00 for the Mississippi Connects program.

$50,000,000 from the money will provide school campuses with WiFi and internet connectivity.

” There are limited resources for majority of the students. We work to identify local community volunteers that are allowing us put these devices in. They’ll use cellular data and make hot spots in the community,” said Welch.

Parking lots, playgrounds, and other public areas will serve as some of the locations.

” Most of the students that have internet access live within the city limits ,so we will work one on one with them. We have funds and hopefully the house bill that they released that is going to work with the Mississippi Department of Education to finish completing access points on the outside,” said Welch.

Welch says this is the shift the school needed to ensure students have engaged learning.

” This has opened a whole new door for education,”said Welch.

Administrators and faculty will create a schedule for parents and students to pick up their devices.