Welcome to the official information page for the KCISD 1 to 1 Chromebook Initiative. On this page you will find information about the program as well as helpful tips for Chromebook use by the students. If you have any questions please email our Director of Technology, Jimmy Gaspard, by clicking here.
Kirbyville CISD has been planning to execute a 1 to 1 (1 device to each student) Chromebook Pilot Program for one grade level during the the 2018 - 2019 school year. While working on the funding of the project, KCISD was presented with a couple of Grant opportunities to fund a 1 to 1 tech lending program. With the award of two major grants, the T-Mobile EmpowerEd Grant and the TEA Tech Lending Grant, the program was catapulted from one grade level to nine grade levels! This means that during the 2018 - 2019 school year, all students in grades 4 - 12 will be receiving a Chromebook for them to use for learning, both in the classroom and at home. This is an amazing opportunity for our students to boost their learning and give them access to more educational resources than ever before!
As part of the T-Mobile grant, a Wireless MiFi unit will accompany the Chromebook, allowing access to internet resources at home for students to work on homework, research, projects and other educational endeavors.
DISCLAIMER: While the program does include the Mifi and monthly service for the 2018-2019 school year, neither T-Mobile nor KCISD can guarantee the reception for data in all areas of Kirbyville CISD. T-Mobile currently has towers North and South of Kirbyville on Hwy 96. This places the City of Kirbyville in the middle of the towers. We are currently aware of areas where connectivity is weak and some areas where T-Mobile reception is non-existent. T-Mobile is telling us that they are working on upgrades to our area's signal that should take place in September of 2018. With this signal upgrade, weak areas should become stronger.
Depending on the type of materials that homes are constructed of, you may find that the signal outside the home is much better than the signal inside the home. If, once you receive the MiFi device, you find that signal is weak inside your home but is usable outside in the yard, you may request a signal booster from T-Mobile free of charge. The signal booster will bring the signal quality inside the home to be equal to the signal quality outside in the yard. Signal boosters may be requested by completing the Signal Booster Request Form located in the Links Section of this page.
Kirbyville CISD is very dedicated to the safety and security of your children physically as well as electronically on the internet. As a part of our safety preparedness, the Chromebooks will have multiple layers of internet filtering. The first layer is the district CIPA (Childrens Internet Protection Act) filter while students are using them at school. Then, T-Mobile has installed CIPA filtering on every MiFi that will be checked out for student use. And lastly, we have purchased a web based CIPA filtering product that will protect the Chromebook no matter what WiFi connection they are using, anywhere in the world.
KCISD will host 3 Chromebook Orientation nights for 6th through 12th grade students and their parents. We are offering 4 nights for your convenience, but students and parents will only need to attend 1 of these orientation nights. Orientation nights will be held at the Kirbyvile High School Cafeteria on August 6th, 7th, and 13th beginning at 6:00 PM. The nights will include a short presentation over the Chromebook 1 to 1 program and handbook and students will be able to check out their Chromebook that evening. Technology staff will be on hand to make sure they are able to sign in to the Chromebook before leaving the campus.