The Perkiomen Valley School District is proud to support a 1:1 environment for our students as part of the District’s Digital Transformation. As a result of this initiative, the District believes students will:
PVSD believes that every student has a right to an education that prepares them as learners! We strive to empower our students with future readiness skills as well as tools to navigate learning in our ever-changing global world. These skills include creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
As part of our digital transformation we are developing a one-to-one environment whereas each student is provided a learning device. A one-to-one environment affords opportunities to our students that were previously unavailable. The learning device will encourage and facilitate new ways of learning both in and out of the classroom as well as provide students with digital access. Students will be able differentiate their own learning, utilizing devices for at-your-fingertip investigations that can exist beyond the classroom walls through synchronous and asynchronous collaborations and virtual experiences.
The district has selected Chromebooks (CB) for the 1:1 initiative. Chromebooks were chosen following an extensive review by the Technology Advisory Committee of available products. The committee examined factors such as cost, device life expectancy, battery life, and integration with existing educational platforms. The Chromebook was selected because it meets man : takes eight seconds to boot up, offers a 10-hour battery, will provide access to thousands of apps (including the Google Suite) and is budget-friendly. Chromebooks are laptops that use Chrome OS as its operating system, and are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud. Click here to learn more about Chromebooks.
The district will provide Chromebooks as a learning tool with no additional fee required. However, families may incur costs as a result of breakage or damage outside of the Chromebook warranty.
f the Chromebook is lost, families will be responsible for the cost of a replacement Chromebook, just as they are responsible for lost textbooks. Families will be responsible for the device cost and the non-transferable extended warranty cost (if applicable), as depreciated in the table below. These fees will be further prorated based upon the month the device is lost.
| New Device Cost (CB + Warranty) |
Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Existing Device Cost (CB + Warranty) |
Year 1 | Year 2 | |
| $354.00 | $354.00 | $265.50 | $177.00 | $88.50 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $50.00 |
If the Chromebook is damaged, the district will follow the procedures to repair it. If the Chromebook is beyond repair, or the repair cost is excessive, families may be expected to pay the repair cost. There may be disciplinary consequences if the damaged is deemed intentional. A loaner device will be issued to the student while their Chromebook is being repaired.
All district provided Chromebooks are property of the district and the district retains all legal rights, similar to other resources provided by the district (such as lockers, textbooks, etc.). Students’ right of possession and use is limited to and conditioned upon full and complete acceptance of the PVSD Acceptable Use Policy.
Currently, the district utilizes tools to ensure the safety of our staff and students, such as content filtering, firewall, etc. These same protocols and restrictions will apply to the Chromebooks.
Yes. The Chromebooks are district-owned and will be filtered and managed using district tools. All protocols and restrictions apply regardless of the network used to access online material.
Yes, it is expected that students use the Chromebook for learning both in and out of school. Families concerned about this expectation can contact their school’s main office to discuss further and, possibly, explore opt out solutions.
Yes, to promote learning anywhere, anytime, students will maintain access to their Chromebook over the summer.
No. The district does not have the capability to control or access these devices remotely (whether in district or out of district).
All students are expected to charge their Chromebooks nightly at home and bring them to school fully charged. Students are discouraged from bringing charging cords to school as it may lead to hazardous conditions. There will be a charging station in the library, but availability may be limited based on other students’ use. Failure to be prepared for classroom instruction may result in consequences.
Many applications, including Google’s G Suite of tools, are accessible offline, and not all school assignments will require internet access. However, it is beneficial to have internet access at home. If this is a financial challenge, please know there are low-cost internet access plans available, including programs from Comcast (Internet Essentials) and Verizon (Lifeline). Hotspots are also available for families in need. Learn more here.
Each Chromebook has a limited warranty that covers normal use, mechanical breakdown or faulty construction. This plan does not warrant against damage caused by misuse, abuse, or accidents.