Massive Chromebook Distribution Starts For West Orange Students

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Plans to return to school this fall in New Jersey – and West Orange – aren’t in the bag yet. But the West Orange Public School District is still moving forward with whatever preparations it can do in the meanwhile, including handing out a huge payload of Chromebook laptop computers.

Earlier this week, the district entered the home stretch of an effort to give Chromebooks to all students in grades K-9. Students in grades 10-12 will keep the Chromebooks they currently have.

The distribution will need to take place in two phases. The first phase, which involves students in grades 4-8, as well as 9th graders entering West Orange High School, kicked off Monday. Phase two, which includes K-3 students, will start on Aug. 24.

Even students that already have computers at home are getting Chromebooks, because the devices need to be configured to work with the district’s Google for Education services and other educational software applications, administrators said.

Parents worried about their kids accessing inappropriate material on their new laptop can rest easy, school officials added.

“When students log in from home or school using their district account to access various websites, they are routed to a web-based service (content filtering system) that prevents students from accessing web pages that contain inappropriate material,” West Orange district officials said in a FAQ sheet.

Read the full document here.

• See related article: Here's The Plan To Reopen West Orange's Schools
• See related article: West Orange Schools Hold Town Hall On Reopening (WATCH)

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