Patterson Unified lends up to 3,000 student laptops for coronavirus distance learning
Patterson students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade can pick up a free laptop this week to access online lessons.
As the coronavirus pandemic keeps schools closed, the Patterson Joint Unified School District on Monday began distributing up to 3,000 Chromebooks to families who need them, said Veronica Miranda, assistant superintendent of educational services.
Parents stayed in their cars as they showed district staff their ID cards, received flyers on internet services and how to take care of the Chromebook, and got the laptop from technicians wearing masks and gloves. A steady stream of cars drove through the stations outside the district office Monday, when parents of fourth- and fifth-graders were scheduled to arrive. The district instructed parents of students in preceding grades to pick up the laptops – which come with insurance covered by the district – through Thursday, Miranda said.
Parents in the drive-thru declined interviews with the Bee as they idled for a couple minutes at most, but several thanked the district on Facebook.
“It was such a smooth process,” one user commented on the district’s Facebook post about the pick-up. “Very organized and efficient!”
Before this week, teachers provided or mailed paper packets to students without a computer at home, Miranda said. Parents who already had computers at home were finding lessons in online portals, she said, but now everyone will shift to online instruction. Students in grades six to 12 took home district Chromebooks when schools closed on March 19, but as county education officials announced tentative reopening dates, the district didn’t tell elementary students to take the laptops.
The announcement extending closures through spring sparked Patterson Unified’s decision to move to online-only and distribute the 3,000 laptops, Miranda said.
“We’re focusing on staying healthy, providing the services and just really keeping the focus on our families continuing to support each other,” she said. “This is really our last push of interacting for our district. We’re just following the protocol of staying healthy and staying safe as the weeks continue.”
Patterson Unified students who need to retrieve medication from school front offices or clothes from PE lockers may do so Wednesday and Thursday, the district announced Tuesday. Classrooms will remain closed.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 1:48 PM.
