KHS Students Take Lead in Coordinating Distribution, Maintenance of District’s Chromebooks

Kennedale High School students have taken the lead role in coordinating distribution, maintenance, repair and replacement of the district’s approximately 1,000 Chromebooks at the building, thanks to a redesigned CTE Computer Maintenance strand. The course reset to involve students in this hands-on problem-solving semester-long task, has already resulted in exceeding all expectations. The CTE Computer Maintenance Room (815) has now established a help desk to assist students who experience Chromebook issues throughout the day. A team of Practicum students provided technology support during beginning-of-the-year MAP testing. In the process, program leaders and students have devised a way to save the district thousands of dollars in repair costs. In the nearby photos, students are removing screens from decommissioned Chromebooks, which will be stored and repurposed to replace cracked or damaged screens of non-warrantied devices in the future—which normally runs approximately $70 per replacement. KHS students will help offset that cost with their emerging repair skills, since the KISD expects to replace 200-250 screens this school year. Kennedale Independent School District is a 1:1 district, meaning every child is issued a Dell Chromebook for enhanced learning, a total of approximately 2,800 devices. The work at Kennedale High School is very exciting, cost-effective and falls under the overall leadership of Michelle Fabel, KHS CTE Computer Maintenance Teacher, and Allison Middleton, KISD CTE/CCMR. Great work to everyone involved!