Fishers parents fight to keep elementary schools technology requirement
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) – As Hamilton Southeastern School (HSE) leaders review its elementary school tablet plan, some parents hope it doesn’t change.
Jason Pierce and Sara Mills Henderson are part of a group fighting back to keep tablets in HSE elementary school classrooms.
“This is the kind of education that we want our students to have,” Pierce said.
“I think it makes complete sense,” Henderson said. “I think it’s where we’re going.”
Not everyone agrees. Over the past few weeks, there’s been vocal opposition.
Nearly 550 people have signed a petition against the tablets. Parents worried it’ll be too much screen time for young minds, and too much responsibility.
After hearing this, school leaders decided to re-evaluate. A decision that confused some parents.
“To take it away now feels like pulling the rug out from underneath this plan, that again, people have spent so much time,” Henderson said. “We were looking forward to the roll out, and didn’t expect this proposal to pop up,” Pierce said.
Pierce made a counter-petition. It has nearly 250 signatures, and a Facebook group has nearly 300 members.
“I’m surprised that the support for it may taken this long to realize that we needed to speak up,” Pierce said.
24-Hour News 8 reached out to HSE officials. They said no decision has been made, but it should be finalized next week.
“I would caution not to move too quickly to change a plan that is the result of so much work,” Pierce said. “So much hard work by real experts, and involved parents and dedicated teachers over the last five years.”
“I think we need to have some trust in our district, our administration, our school board leaders, and most importantly our teachers and our kids, that we can implement this,” Henderson said. “We can do this.”
The school board is expected to vote on this issue at Wednesday’s board meeting. The district unveiled one proposal earlier this week at a school board workshop.
We’ve tried to get a copy, but officials would not provide it. They did however provide us a statement.
In recent weeks, some parents of newer students in the district have inquired about alternative options regarding the previously scheduled rollout of the 1:1 digital program for grades K-4. There are several options being explored, including one that was discussed during a March 14 work session. However, the conversation remains open and transparent, and no decisions have been made ahead of next Wednesday’s school board meeting.
Our School Board and administrative team appreciate the feedback we have received, dating back to when we first began studying this issue in the Fall of 2011. Likewise, we applaud the ongoing work being done by our students in the 23-classroom, K-4 iPad pilot program designed and implemented last school year by nearly 50 teacher leaders.
Our support of this program is part of our commitment to equip our students with the world-class educational experiences that they deserve and that our school community and families expect.”