HOMEWORK TIME: Let Us Celebrate This Pallet of Chromebooks Now Being Distributed to Humboldt’s Cooped Up Elementary School Students | Lost Coast Outpost

Ooo! The Humboldt County Office of Education got its hands on a pallet full of Chromebook laptops which means it’s time to learn, kids! More info in the HCOE release below: 

The Chromebooks are here

The Humboldt County Office of Education is distributing over 650 new
Chromebooks to elementary school students this week. The computers are intended to help
distance-learning students in Humboldt County achieve educational success in “COVID times.” The Chromebooks are part of the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Closing The
Digital Divide initiative to support students in rural, underserved communities.

This week, 525
computers were delivered to Eureka City Schools. 125 were distributed to Fortuna Elementary
school and 15 to Agnes J. Johnson School in Weott. In addition, over 400 new computers were
slated to be distributed to Ferndale Unified School District, Freshwater Elementary School,
Redwood Coast Montessori, Southern Humboldt and Cutten School Districts.

Rio Dell School District Superintendent, Angela Johnson said, “We are very excited at Rio Dell
for the generous donation of Chromebooks. With the addition of these Chromebooks we are
now able to have a device for every student in 1st through 8th grade! We live in a supportive
community and we are grateful to Humboldt County Office of Education and PG&E for
securing these devices to meet our students’ technology needs.”

Due to the geographical nature of Humboldt County, technology equity is often challenging to
meet students’ distance-learning needs. “These computers will help bridge some of the access
issues related to devices and internet connectivity for students in Humboldt County,” said
Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Chris Hartley. “They will also serve as a catalyst for improving student outcomes and address the digital divide that exists for many of
our students and families in the 31 districts we serve,” Hartley stated.

Under those masks, these Rio Dell students are very excited