Hooksett School Administration:

Hooksett students from the 2nd, 5th, and 6th grades are scheduled to participate in a Bring-Your-Own-Device pilot starting October 17, 2011 and continuing for the duration of the school year. An informational meeting for this newly announced BYOD initiative was held on Sept. 15 at the Cawley Middle School. A “device” as presented to attendees means a privately owned wireless and/or portable laptop, netbook, tablet/slate, smart phone, etc. During this meeting a number of questions were asked by concerned parents, including: • What preparation and instruction for BYOD has been provided to teachers? • Since it was stated that these devices will not be required for students to participate in classroom learning how will these devices be utilized to enhance student learning in school? • Will the parents and students, who must sign an agreement, be liable for violations of policy? For example, students will be required to use the school provided wireless network in an effort to address student safety and security, but how will 2nd graders know they are on the school's wireless network vs. another wireless or 3G/4G connection? • How much support can teachers appropriately offer to assist students, with their various devices, for troubleshooting (i.e. - application, hardware, and network issues) without distracting time and attention away from daily lesson plans? • Will these devices be allowed at recess, during gym, or during other activities? When will it be appropriate to use these devices and how will the students know when using a device is ok? • These devices are expensive privately owned computer equipment. How will the devices be secured when not in use? • Since these devices are privately owned how will schools protect student images/video captured on these devices from potential abuse or misuse as happened in Lower Merion District in Philadelphia, the dangers of cyber-bullying, or device hackers/lurkers? • Why is this pilot being conducted on 3 years worth of students? • If BYOD does evolve such that devices are required for students to participate in the classroom how will the district ensure these resources are available to all students? • Hopkinton, Oyster River and Bow were cited as New Hampshire locations with BYOD programs. What findings/results have been noted with their BYOD programs? We believe Superintendent Littlefield and school leadership are responsible for the education and well-being of ALL the children in Hooksett schools. It is our impression that there has been a lack of sufficient preparation for this initiative, and satisfactory responses to these and other questions were not provided. The students, parents, volunteers, teachers and taxpayers of Hooksett invest significant time and resources toward an excellent public education for Hooksett children and deserve to know that this initiative will be a net positive toward that investment. We need answers to these questions that are more satisfying than “we don't know” and “this is 21st Century Learning”. We want all parts of the BYOD rollout delayed to allow sufficient time for Hooksett School leadership to provide satisfactory responses to these and other important questions.  We need to be certain there is an appropriate plan in place for the introduction of these tools including proper analysis of their effectiveness as a learning aid, and that this BYOD initiative is a benefit and not a distraction for our children and their education.

Sincerely,