Tech Levy 2020

For information on the Tech Levy Ad hoc Committee Meetings, please visit www.auburn.wednet.edu/TechLevy2020. Thank you.

2020-2021 Midyear Technology Update for Families

Kindergarten – Grade 1 now 1:1 with Touch

With the community’s support of a replacement technology levy, we were able to speed up the purchase of technology to bring kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms to a 1:1 device to student ratio. These primary students are now using touch 360 Chromebooks. These devices allow students to touch their screens for navigation and to flip their screens to create a tablet style experience. Schools distributed these to students before winter break.
Mrs. Rude’s kindergarteners at Dick Scobee report improved access and performance. One students writes, "I like that I can write on my screen now on Seesaw, it was hard to use the trackpad!" Another says, "Teacher, I can see you so much better! And my friends! HI FRIENDS!" From a parent’s perspective, the performance is a positive too: "I'm just so grateful that it runs so much faster than the old computer! We thought we were going to have to pay more money for better Internet, but it turns out it was the computer!" Along with Mrs. Rude and her fantastic kindergarteners, we appreciate the community’s support for technology for students!

Distance Learning Rundown

With distance learning extended into the 20-21 school year, Auburn SD extended its supports for students, families, and staff:
• 98% of elementary students now have Chromebooks
checked out for learning.
• 800 teachers participated in August distance learning
training.
• The Seesaw learning platform and internal Gmail are provided to elementary
school students.
• PresenceLearning enables live, online therapy services for students receiving special education.
• 1,445 mobile hotspots and 100+ Comcast Internet Essentials sponsorships are provided for families, with assistance from county and state grants, and the All in WA Digital Equity Initiative.
• Distance Learning Technology Assistants are available to families, including Spanish and Ukrainian help lines. Office staff were trained and repurposed for this service.
• A new technology resource page For Families provides information on tools and services.
For a full review of the December report to the Board of Directors on supports for distance learning, click here.

Technology Levy Enabled Network Improvements

District technology levies enable behind-the-scenes improvements and support in addition to the hardware we see in the hands of students and staff. The expiring technology levy, coordinated with federal E-Rate funds, enabled Auburn SD to increase the capacity of its wide area network by tenfold. This project began in July 2019, and finished in November 2020. We now have 10G connections (instead of 1G) from every school and worksite back to the district office, where we connect to the Internet. The process has also allowed us to lower ongoing monthly costs for connections that impact our general operating funds.

For questions please contact the Department of Technology: helpdesk@auburn.wednet.edu, or call us at 253.931.4940.