The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PRESCOTT – At their Feb. 25 school board meeting, the Prescott School Board approved the purchase of 90 Chromebook computers to improve teaching efficiency. The computers come with a $35,000 price tag, but will be paid for through a federal grant that must be used or forfeited.

Prescott Superintendent Brett Cox told the board that a staff survey indicated that teachers are eager to improve what they can do, from a technology standpoint, in the classroom.

He said the staff voted to pursue the use of Google Docs and Chromebooks which would make both teaching and learning more efficient. Students will be able to take the Chromebooks home to do homework and it may allow them exposure to technology that they wouldn’t have otherwise, Cox said.

“We have federal grant dollars that we will lose if we don’t use it. We have the opportunity to purchase 90 – three complete classroom sets – for the secondary students. This could also eliminate the need for the computer lab which would create more classroom space,” Cox said.

The board unanimously approved purchase of the Chromebooks.