Pittsburgh Public Schools To Distribute More Than 2,800 Devices To Families This Weekend
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh Public Schools students will begin remote learning on Tuesday, and the district is distributing thousands of devices to bridge the digital divide for students this weekend.
The district says that PPS families in need of a device for their children have been instructed on where and how to pick up the more than 2,800 devices. The following week, there will be 600 additional devices that the district will distribute to families in need.
On Thursday, 19 laptops in a shipment were damaged, but no laptops were damaged in Friday's shipment, according to the district.
In a tweet Thursday, Pittsburgh Public Schools said if your child does not have a device, and you have not called your child's teacher, you should call the call immediately.
The first day of E-Learning is Tuesday, September 8, 2020 for all students PreK-12.
Does your child have a device? Have you talked to your child's teacher? If your answer is "No", please contact your child's school immediately.
— Pgh Public Schools (@PPSnews) September 4, 2020
The school board says students who did not have computers yet will be given paper packets with lesson plans, and they can view the classes on a smartphone.
According to Pittsburgh Public Schools, over 1,700 students did not respond to contact from PPS officials to confirm whether or not they needed a device for the semester. In a report, 2,362 students said they still needed a device, and 1,801 students reported technical issues with their devices. On August 29, 9,199 total students had received a device from Pittsburgh Public Schools distributions. The district also is distributing iPads to sites.
The district expects 6,000 devices to arrive by the end of October.
