Dear CRLS Students and Families,
I hope you are enjoying the first days of summer break. I am writing to inform you about
CRLS Connects, an exciting development that will increase access to technology for incoming 9th grade students in the 2017-2018 school year.
CRLS Connects is a comprehensive program at CRLS that aims to provide support and access to digital resources for all students and teachers. In consultation with the CPS School Committee, CRLS Faculty Advisory Committee, and the CRLS Instructional Leadership Team, a decision was made to purchase approximately 1100 Chromebooks this summer in order to support a dual distribution model in the 2017-2018 school year. First, all 9th grade students will receive a Chromebook assigned to them for use at school and home over their high school career. Distribution will occur in early fall and students will be supported with training on device care and digital citizenship. Second, 25 class sets of Chromebooks on carts will be acquired and distributed as follows. Five carts will replace those that are currently being shared across the school through a reservation system. The remaining 20 will be assigned to selected teachers who have indicated their interest in participating in a pilot program. This pilot will provide a dedicated cart in their classroom for use with all of their classes, in exchange for commitments to additional professional development, program feedback, classroom visits, and a leadership role in supporting the school transition to a 1:1 environment. The goal is to learn from these two models next year in anticipation of a full 1:1 rollout for all CRLS students in school year 2018-2019.
An information page about
CRLS Connects is on the web site. The page includes a form for students and families to submit questions related to
CRLS Connects. These questions will feed a
Frequently Asked Questions section. Please refer to this form or contact the CRLS Main Office at 617.349.6630 if you have additional questions related to this matter.
Sincerely,
Damon Smith