Howe Sound Secondary students will each have access to a Chromebook for the 2024-2025 school year.
The new program “aims to ensure each student has a device for their exclusive use,” Sea to Sky School District communications officer and executive assistant Jenn Morris said.
“This program is designed to ensure equitable access to learning technology, fostering a digitally inclusive educational environment,” she said.
Students also have the option to bring in a family-owned laptop or Chromebook to use during school hours.
The new initiative comes after the provincial government mandated restrictions on student cellphone usage across all B.C. schools as of Sept. 3.
“Howe Sound Secondary has a personal device policy in place that limits the use of personal digital devices during instructional hours, ensuring a focused and conducive learning environment for all students,” Morris said.
“That means no personal digital devices are permitted for use in class unless directed by an educator for specific purposes related to current learning activities or accessibility, accommodation, medical and health needs.
“Students are permitted to use personal devices during break and off-schedule times.”
Morris said that HSS cellphone use policy would be amended to include more specific parameters, with “feedback gathered from district partner groups, including students, parents, staff, regarding the use of personal digital devices in schools”.
In a press release, Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh said she hoped the decision to implement cellphone restrictions would allow students to focus on their education during school hours.
“We want to ensure that when kids are in the classroom, they can learn without distractions that take away from their ability to thrive in school,” Singh said.
“This work will help to minimize some of those distractions so we can set students up for success, and we can then focus on empowering students to develop safe, informed, healthy habits when using technology and social media.”
Chromebooks were distributed during the first week of school at Howe Sound Secondary, and will remain with students until June 2025.
“Devices have specific directions around care, usage, and security both at school and at home,” Morris said.
