Rumors about the prospect of replacing laptops with iPads have been circulating through the school for several weeks now. Some are fervently against the prospect of the new technology, and others are open to it. Yet with the utter lack of communication on the issue, many are simply confused, especially in thinking that the decision has already been made. In fact, iPad replacement is not even a formal proposal yet, and any decisions made will be voted upon in March.

In August, Superintendent Mike Lucas released a document with his goals for the year, including to “communicate at a high level with school staff” and “help the BOE [Board of Education] continue to communicate and engage even more with stakeholders.” Similarly, on Sept. 3, the Board of Education presented an entire slideshow focused on their communication goals. However, with the iPad confusion, those communication goals have not been met.

For a school district that is working on improving communication, the lack of engagement during this iPad situation is disheartening to see. We — as a community of teachers, students and staff — deserve better from the district leadership.

Lucas acknowledged the confusion in an interview.

“I’ve seen miscommunication be an issue with this process,” Lucas said. “Somehow, somewhere along the way, pandemonium set in because people thought the decision was already made. That’s been frustrating and disappointing from my point of view because we’ve been pretty diligent and transparent in trying to get a lot of feedback from students and staff. I don’t know where the disconnect was, but like I said, it’s been frustrating.”

Lucas also stated that there hasn’t been much community involvement in the conversation so far because there is still work to be done evaluating various aspects of the potential transition, like cost. While this is understandable, it’s unclear which students and staff were actually given the opportunity to contribute their feedback that Lucas referenced. Perhaps these opportunities could have been better communicated as well. The heart of the issue is not just about the iPads, but about the feeling of being left in the dark and the confusion that followed.

There are several established groups that the board could have reached out to about the iPad replacement prospect. There’s the Student Advisory Council (SAC) which was established this fall specifically to represent student interests to the Board of Education; eMerge, which is made up of teachers invested in being leaders in technology and the Westside Education Association, who represents staff interests. None of these were adequately utilized to limit the confusion that occurred at the Jan. 20 board meeting.

According to SAC member and junior Camille Beaulieu, the board did not approach SAC about the prospect of iPads at all before the board meeting on Jan. 20.

“I don’t think they intentionally kept us in the dark, but we weren’t given any direct information,” Beaulieu said. “I only learned about it through the rumors going around the school.”

A switch to iPads, for better or worse, would greatly affect students at school and at home. Many students use their school devices for both curricular and extracurricular projects, and we are often more familiar with the technology than adults in the community. Our unique perspective and insight deserves to be heard, and the perfect avenue for sharing that is through SAC. The school board should have utilized an opportunity that not only would have lessened confusion but also furthered their own goal of communication. By neglecting to notify SAC of the potential changes, the board caused unnecessary confusion and made students feel their opinions were devalued in the process.

Staff were also largely blindsided by the potential changes. Although eMerge was approached by Director of Technology Paul Lindgren and Coordinator of Technology Integration and Digital Content Matt Lee on Jan. 9, that was just 11 days before the Jan. 20 board meeting, giving them little time to process a prospect which, according to an interview with Lindgren, had been under consideration for “a long, long, long, long, time.” Hillside Elementary art instructor Teresa Matthews made an excellent point on behalf of WEA about the role of staff members in this process.

“When teachers are given the opportunity to embrace innovation, they design learning experiences that last forever,” Matthews said during public comment at the board meeting. “With that being said, WEA recommends giving all teachers and staff in every building the opportunity to try the new proposed iPads and to have time to reflect and process how an iPad-only option would impact their teaching. WEA requests that the district gather and find new feedback from all K-12 staff — teachers and staff — before a decision is made that impacts all Westside students.”

Instructors and staff members play an essential role in this process, as they will have to adapt their curriculum to accommodate any new devices that may be adopted. However, discovering the scope of the change isn’t something they can do in one day. It takes time to investigate new technology, become comfortable with it and assess its benefits and drawbacks. Yet the board decision is only a month away, giving staff members little opportunity to do that.

Lucas said in the Jan. 20 board meeting, “Things have to be rolled out off to a great start, or this is a disaster. An absolute Titanic waiting to happen.”

Whether or not replacing laptops with iPads is ultimately beneficial, communication on the issue is vital. But the district leadership’s boat hasn’t quite sunk yet. We may only have a month before the board decision, but that just makes it all the more pressing for leadership to reach out further to committees like SAC, eMerge and WEA and garner the opinion of students, staff and other members of the district. It is only through collaboration, inclusion and clear communication that the board can make the most beneficial decision.