Petition: A Call for Intentional Technology in Howell Public Schools
To the Howell Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent MacGregor:
We, the undersigned parents, educators, and community members, advocate for Howell Public Schools (HPS) to conduct a comprehensive review of all current technology products and policies. We believe that to fulfill the mission of the HPS Adaptive Plan—to maximize every student's success—the district must ensure that classroom technology is used intentionally, safely, and effectively.
Our district’s Portrait of a Highlander aims to develop students into "Strategic Thinkers" and "Successful Citizens." We believe that an over-reliance on digital devices can act as a barrier to these goals by increasing cognitive load, decreasing sustained focus, and impacting the "Relationship Skills" and "Social Awareness" that HPS values.
We urge HPS to develop updated policies based on the following priorities:
- Developmental Appropriateness: Establishing distinct policies for elementary, middle, and high schools that respect the unique neurological and social-emotional stages of our children.
- Purpose Over Consumption: Evaluating whether platforms like YouTube and gamified learning apps promote "Future Readiness" or lead to passive consumption and digital distraction.
- Protecting Foundational Skills: Ensuring that tools like Generative AI do not lead to "cognitive off-loading," but instead protect the development of core academic foundations.
- Phone-Free Learning: Moving toward a smartphone-free school day to restore the "safe, secure, and engaging environment" promised in our district’s belief statements.
- Parental Rights & Partnership: Ensuring a transparent, non-stigmatized "opt-out" process for 1:1 devices and ensuring no student is required to own a personal smartphone to participate in school life or athletics.
This petition urges HPS to engage in a timely and transparent review process involving the direct input of parents, teachers, and students—independent of corporate influence—to ensure that technology serves our students, rather than our students serving the technology. Please sign this petition and share it with Howell Public School Parents and stakeholders.
6 Comments
My son stares at a screen all day at school and then comes home and wants to do the same. Where is the real learning? They need paper and pens.
Some tech is good. 100% reliance on chromebooks with no text is not suitable For every child. We are leaving kids out that need books, need support from parents who can’t access, kids who don’t know how to properly take notes, organize their notes and papers because it’s ’just in my Chromebook’
I fully support this petition.
Screens in school are lowering the IQ of our society
Take chrome books out Howell public school
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Petition: A Call for Intentional Technology in Howell Public Schools
To the Howell Public Schools Board of Education and Superintendent MacGregor:
We, the undersigned parents, educators, and community members, advocate for Howell Public Schools (HPS) to conduct a comprehensive review of all current technology products and policies. We believe that to fulfill the mission of the HPS Adaptive Plan—to maximize every student's success—the district must ensure that classroom technology is used intentionally, safely, and effectively.
Our district’s Portrait of a Highlander aims to develop students into "Strategic Thinkers" and "Successful Citizens." We believe that an over-reliance on digital devices can act as a barrier to these goals by increasing cognitive load, decreasing sustained focus, and impacting the "Relationship Skills" and "Social Awareness" that HPS values.
We urge HPS to develop updated policies based on the following priorities:
- Developmental Appropriateness: Establishing distinct policies for elementary, middle, and high schools that respect the unique neurological and social-emotional stages of our children.
- Purpose Over Consumption: Evaluating whether platforms like YouTube and gamified learning apps promote "Future Readiness" or lead to passive consumption and digital distraction.
- Protecting Foundational Skills: Ensuring that tools like Generative AI do not lead to "cognitive off-loading," but instead protect the development of core academic foundations.
- Phone-Free Learning: Moving toward a smartphone-free school day to restore the "safe, secure, and engaging environment" promised in our district’s belief statements.
- Parental Rights & Partnership: Ensuring a transparent, non-stigmatized "opt-out" process for 1:1 devices and ensuring no student is required to own a personal smartphone to participate in school life or athletics.
This petition urges HPS to engage in a timely and transparent review process involving the direct input of parents, teachers, and students—independent of corporate influence—to ensure that technology serves our students, rather than our students serving the technology. Please sign this petition and share it with Howell Public School Parents and stakeholders.
6 Comments
Sick of these chromebooks. Put real books back in the classrooms.
My son stares at a screen all day at school and then comes home and wants to do the same. Where is the real learning? They need paper and pens.
Some tech is good. 100% reliance on chromebooks with no text is not suitable For every child. We are leaving kids out that need books, need support from parents who can’t access, kids who don’t know how to properly take notes, organize their notes and papers because it’s ’just in my Chromebook’
I fully support this petition.
Screens in school are lowering the IQ of our society
Take chrome books out Howell public school
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Sick of these chromebooks. Put real books back in the classrooms.