Dianne Dougherty, technology director at Pottsville Area School District, has a plan to provide more cutting-edge equipment to the district’s students and teachers.
“This is going to be a huge step for us,” Dougherty told the school board at its Feb. 17 work session.
Apple Inc. has offered the district a deal of $1,607,304. In particular, it will allow the district to put Apple iPad tablets into the hands of all of the district’s students a year earlier than the district anticipated. And the school board may hold a special meeting next week to vote on that proposal before a discount expires on March 4, Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel said Tuesday.
For 45 minutes at the school board’s work session Feb. 17, Dougherty explained the proposal with help from Tim McHugh, an account executive with Apple, Harrisburg.
“About four years ago we started, with small steps, using the iPad 1-to-1 initiative. We began at the elementary level. We’re currently K to 3 and grades 5 and 6. And we’ve had a lot of support through local business people because of the extensive use that the iPad is finding itself in industry across the country. But we’re also beginning to see it here in this county. And we’re trying to be as progressive as we can. But also, we have to think about the fiscal end of it,” Zwiebel told the board.
Pottsville Area has 1,275 iPads, which are utilized by students in grades K through 6. “The remaining iPads are in shared carts at the middle and high schools,” Dougherty said.
The district has 661 desktop computers which are used in grade 4 and in grades 7 through 12, as well as labs in the elementary, middle school and high school, she said.
The district also has 314 laptop computers which are shared in the middle and high schools, she said.
Pottsville Area has three lease agreements with Apple. And if the district continues paying into those, it could spend $2,222,157 over the next four years: $482,035 in 2016-17; $603,671 in 2017-18; $589,433 in 2018-19; and $547,018 in 2019-20, according to figures provided by Dougherty.
“When Dianne contacted Tim McHugh, our rep, a couple weeks ago, the intent was to look at expanding the program to grades 4, 7 and 8, so that by next year the entire elementary and the middle school, all students, would have an iPad to utilize,” Zwiebel said.
“In our conversations with Tim, we learned Apple was about to roll out a program they have never ever done before. With that, we ended up having several in-house meetings and phone conversations with Tim and we crunched the figures. And I’ll let Tim share all that. The bottom line is we have an opportunity here next year to provide every student K to 12 with an iPad Air 2, a year earlier than when we thought we could. And we’ll save approximately $400,000 in doing so, as opposed to the way we’re moving the program now,” Zwiebel said.
That includes a $200 off each iPad if the order is for more than 2,500 of them, Zwiebel said.
Apple is offering Pottsville Area the chance to close out its current lease agreements for a new one, a $1,607,304 lease-to-own agreement over the next four years: $396,864, 2016-17; $403,480, 2017-18; $403,480, 2018-19; and $403,480, 2019-20, according to figures provided by Dougherty.
She explained what the district would get in the deal:
• 2,800 iPad Air 2 tablets, one for each student in grades K through 12 and all teachers and administrators.
• 220 MacBooks for teachers and administrators.
• 25 IMac computers and five MacBooks for the publications room in the high school.
• Mobile device management system and licensing, professional development for faculty and Apple professional services and support.
“Are we talking lease or purchase?” board Member William R. Davidson asked.
“It’s a four-year lease, but at the end of the lease we do own those devices,” Dougherty said.
Since March 2012, the district has generated thousands of dollars by selling used items through Ebay, she said.
“We have $20,000 in our Ebay account and I thought we could put that money toward paying the existing leases that we have,” Dougherty said.
“This is a large purchase for the district. Would Apple entertain any sort of a discount on existing leases for the payoff?” board President John F. Boran asked.
“As far as Apple discounting, we’re doing that with the new equipment. We don’t do that with the old. This discount in this case is approximately half a million dollars. You’re talking about $490,000 in discounts towards the new iPads. So, when Dr. Zwiebel said this is unprecedented, he meant it. I don’t have another transaction where we’re discounting at this level,” McHugh said.
“What is the useful life of those? What happens at the end of year four? Are we going to have to start all over again in buying 2,800 iPads?” board Vice President Karen E. Rismiller asked.
“When you get into a lease cycle with technology, you should assume and you should plan for that ongoing expense. As far as what the average life is for an iPad, I’d say some people will get four or some people will get five years out of them. I don’t recommend that. In that fifth year, I would plan on renewing. I can’t speak to what the promotions would be at that time,” McHugh said.
“Are we going to see an educational plan for the use of these iPads in every subject?” Davidson said.
“Yes. Absolutely. We’re going to iBooks. We’re going to create books on the iPad and we’ll be able to use those instead of buying textbooks. We’ll have something that our teachers have created that will match our curriculum,” Dougherty said.
From 2013 to 2015, Penn State University conducted a study to determine how effective the use of the iPad Mini was on education at Pottsville Area’s John S. Clarke Elementary.
On Friday, Jeffrey A. Stone, an IST instructor at Penn State Schuylkill, offered insights into the results.
In short, he said the district was working to slowly incorporate the use of the new technology with its existing courses of study, and progress was slow but sure.
“The iPads were being used primarily to augment and/or replace traditional tasks and, in some cases, for more authentic learning and non-traditional activities. The data showed widespread stakeholder support for the iPad program. Implementation challenges included the need for ongoing teacher professional development and new avenues for teacher collaboration, as well as the need for a sustainable budget for hardware and software. Given the iPad program is still in its infancy, the integration and positive impact of the program can reasonably be expected to increase over time if these challenges are addressed. I think the iPad program has a lot of potential to make a positive impact on JSC students, and I observed many people working hard to help make the program a success in the long-term. However, like any significant organizational change, it will take time to fully realize the potential benefits,” Stone said.
“Technology is an effective teaching tool, if implemented correctly. JSC is trying to make that happen, but large scale change takes time. It does not happen overnight. JSC is definitely moving in the right direction, based on my observations,” Stone said.