Oakland – Just one week after handing out a major round of new #OaklandUndivided Chromebooks that students get to keep, Oakland Unified School District is updating the entire community on the overall effort to get 25,000 computers into the hands of Oakland’s public school students.
We have enough computers in our schools to ensure students have them for immediate use to engage in distance learning. To address the need for devices after schools went into distance learning in the spring, OUSD distributed nearly 23,000 Chromebooks and 7,000 wireless hotspot devices to students on loan from the schools. Most of our students have these loaners, if they haven’t already received their own computer. If your student has yet to receive even a loaner, please contact your school principal. Also, if you have yet to do so, please fill out the Tech Check Survey. Once the #OaklandUndivided campaign began, it became clear that the loaners were only a temporary fix that would soon no longer be needed.
The #OaklandUndivided partnership has purchased 25,000 computers that will replace the loaner devices, and 15,000 hotspots, to ensure every student in need in District-run and charter schools has the computer, internet, and tech support they need and deserve to be successful. In total, the #OaklandUndivided team has already given to students almost 6,000 of the permanent laptops that they can keep, including roughly 4,000 over the past week, plus 2,800 hotspots. These devices have gone out to students weeks earlier than expected, because the supply lines were not quite as backed up as expected.
As more of these new devices arrive, they are first being sent to school sites with high completion rates of the Tech Check Survey to be distributed to students. By the end of September, our goal is that all students in need of a computer and internet – who have completed the survey – will receive their own Chromebooks and hotspots (that they get to keep).
As devices come in for students, the individual school communities will determine when it is safest and least disruptive for their community to distribute the #OaklandUndivided Chromebooks out to students and families. While we await the arrival of touchscreen devices – which are expected to be delivered in the fall – students in TK to first grade and identified students receiving Special Education services will continue to have computers and internet access through their OUSD loaner device.
If you or a student you know needs a device now for remote learning, help spread the word to get everyone connected:
To get a loaner device immediately, contact your school site and let them know your needs.
To receive your permanent laptop and internet device, complete the Tech Check Survey online or with support from school site staff in order to receive a computer and internet access. As of August 24, the families of more than 24,800 students have completed the survey.
Even if you have a device on loan, you should still complete the Tech Check Survey to determine eligibility so you can receive your own, permanent computer and consistent internet access. Families can visit undivided.techexchange.org directly to register online, or connect with their school site for details about receiving their device.
OUSD students with their #OaklandUndivided devices
We thank members of the community who told us they were interested in an update on the progress we have made with the #OaklandUndivided campaign. We could not have gotten this far without the support from our community, and all the amazing people and organizations who have provided financial assistance to this effort. Provided your student qualifies for a device to keep, the school will contact you via email or text with details of how and when to pick it up.
We reached our first goal shortly after we started the campaign, but there are still goals that lie ahead, as we plan to provide computers and internet access to all Oakland students who need them every year moving forward. If you’re interested in joining our #OaklandUndivided movement – here is how you can get involved:
To learn more about #OaklandUndivided, please visit www.oaklandedfund.org/digitaldivide.
To donate a computer or hotspot, contact [email protected].
To make a donation or discuss a potential financial contribution, contact:
● David Silver, Mayor’s Office of Education at [email protected]
● Jonathan Osler, Oakland Public Education Fund at [email protected]
● Curtiss Sarikey, Oakland Unified School District at [email protected]
About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.
To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.
Post based on press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media, Inc.