This school year, many things have changed, such as the fact that there is an option to attend school virtually. This year, the current freshman class had the opportunity to have and use school Chromebooks which they could take home. 

These Chromebooks are part of Frisco ISD’s new 1 For All program for high school students, where the district provides technology to students, according to Ms. Gwen Serna, the Chromebook clerk at LTHS. 

“9th graders at LT were eligible to have new touchscreen Chromebooks issued to them if they completed a course about Chromebooks, paid an accidental damage insurance fee, and had parental consent,” Ms. Serna said. 

According to the Frisco ISD website, the plan is to add each new class of incoming freshmen into the program. However, starting next year, the current sophomore class, who will be juniors in the 2021-22 school year, will also be able to use and take home these Chromebooks. 

“Sophomores are being asked to complete their Canvas course now and finish the other steps if they would like to take their Chromebooks home over this summer,” Ms. Serna said. 

The Canvas course and Guardian acknowledgement form should be completed and the fees should be paid by the 14th, for students who would like to have their device before the summer. This extension of the program will change a few things next year, such as the fact that students will be expected to bring their device to school, fully charged. However, this will not change everything in regards to technology courses, according to Mrs. Kim Hampton, the digital learning coach at LT. 

“Most of our technology classes here at LT use specialized software that only works on a PC, so they will still be held in a PC lab,” Mrs. Hampton said. “If we had a class that did not require special software like that, we would now have the ability to be more flexible with the location of that, so we could move it into a regular classroom.” 

Also, all of the current labs will still remain labs next year, according to Mrs. Hampton. For students who are considering the FISD Virtual School option for the next school year, things are not as clear yet, since there are a lot of decisions that still need to be made. 

“There is still quite a lot in the air with regards to the virtual school option,” Mrs. Hampton said. 

She also said that all of the information currently available about this option is found on the virtual school home page on the Frisco ISD website. Next year, there will be several changes, like the extension of the 1 For All program, and the introduction of a full-time virtual school option, all of which will allow more opportunities to work with technology.