Every day, handfuls of students bring electronic devices into school such as laptops and iPads, but none of them can access the internet due to the internet used at HHS, which does not support wireless connectivity. However, the district has plans on changing how connected the school is with its students.
“We need to be better connected with the whole school,” said Superintendent John Burkey. “The goal is to be connected wherever you are in the high school.”

Burkey’s plans to equip students with some sort of cellular device to take classes and work on go hand in hand with his want for wireless internet connectivity on the campus. It would allow students to work outside of the restrictive computer labs that sometimes require scheduling to be reserved and used as a class.
“What we’re looking at is using a cellular connection as opposed to a wi-fi connection,” said Jason Emricson, director of information technology.
The district has already taken steps in the direction of contacting and working with cellular providers to equip the high school with a cellular connection.
“We have talked with all of the major cell phone providers: Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-mobile, just to name a few,” said Burkey. “It would also be a very new concept for them too.”
With the partnership, a cell phone provider would possibly come out with a plan that would save the district money. Instead of having to replace computers regularly, which have a life cycle of five to eight years; these new devices could be replaced every two years. This would be similar to the deal customers make regarding new cell phones with their cell phone providers.
“We want to have the cellular providers providing cellular infrastructure as opposed to using district infrastructure,” said Emricson. “It basically means that we’re going to be using their equipment instead of ours.”

In addition to the benefits the new connection could provide to the school, students will adjust to homework and learning paces if plans are completed.
“I think it would be cool if I got something to work on my homework on at school,” said sophomore Mike Lisack. “It would help me get typing assignments out of the way without having to go home or use a computer.”
If the district buys the devices for the new online classes, as well as equips the high school with wireless connectivity, we could be taking important steps forward towards becoming a more modern-day school.
“Basically, we’re trying to find a way to partner with a company to save us money, students and family’s money, and pool multiple resources together,” said Burkey. “This would be starting with the small group of students in online classes next year.”

-Marek Makowski

Sophomore