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How is CCISD equipping students for virtual learning?

How is CCISD equipping students for virtual learning?
Posted at 3:10 PM, Aug 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-05 13:56:02-04

The start of the new school year will be done remotely for districts across the Coastal Bend, and the Corpus Christi Independent School District is one of many offering help to families who need it.

CCISD has enough devices so that every family who needs one can have use of a laptop. However, that doesn’t mean every student will have their own device.

The district’s policy is one Chromebook per family, but many families have more than one student -- often on different campuses.

“We do take each of these situations into account,” said CCISD Associate Director of Communications Lyndall Gathright.

CCISD said the district will work with families who need extra help.

“We are trying to evaluate across the district; different age groups, different campuses, different communities, and make sure each one of those gets what they need,” Gathright said.

The district sent a survey to families to get a better idea of their needs. CCISD then bought enough WiFi hotspots for every family who said it didn’t have Internet access.

With those hotspots, students can stay connected using devices they may already have.

“Any WiFi-enabled device will work; so televisions, phones, tablets, game consoles,” said Gathright. “All those things that are already in homes can be used to access online-learning materials.”

And like most plans during the COVID-19 pandemic, CCISD said the district’s plans are fluid.

“As we discover that there are other holes or other people who need additional help, then we’re going to do everything we can to do that,” he said.

The district hopes the need for technology is a temporary one, with in-person learning slated to start after Labor Day.

CCISD said the district also is looking at using school buses as mobile hotspots in school parking lots, though there’s no decision on where those buses would be deployed.