Technology Issues at Forefront of Jackson School Board Meeting

The Jackson County Schools are waiting on technology shipments to arrive.

Director of Schools Kristy Brown told school board members she ordered Chromebooks that have still not arrived.

“We can do a few things to help with the situation more, like just updating some teacher laptops and hopefully receiving the Chromebooks that have been on order for a couple of months now,” Brown said. “So I hope that we’re able to get those in and that will make a difference.”

Technology dominated the meeting. In principals’ reports to the school board, the virtual learning curve for teachers, students and parents came up often.

Brown said technology needs to be updated, including smart boards, which she said have been ordered. Brown said making Wi-Fi hot spots available for students without internet access is another option.

“Some options that we are looking at and planning for is to make hot spots available in our school parking lots, possibly our community centers we looked at some mobile hot spots on buses as a possibility,” Brown said.

Having access to broadband and high-speed internet is showing itself as an important challenge for rural Tennessee, Brown said.

“The need is greater than ever considering the circumstances that we find ourselves in right now,” Brown said.

The Jackson County Schools reported 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 55 quarantines as of Thursday.