In Danville, Iowa, a committee of students and teachers is working with board members to determine if laptops would improve education for middle and high school students. At a recent meeting, a school board member who had attended a daylong conference at which another district shared information about its laptop program, reported: "I was very impressed with how the students responded to it. I brought it back to the board, and they got excited about it as well."

Members of the Danville Junior/Senior High School Building Leadership Team say they are still in fact-finding mode but are generally hopeful about launching a 1:1 program for students in grades 7-12 in the fall of 2011. Team member Lois Roth stated: "We believe students having access to this technology will create a more engaging learning environment and then transfer into better academic performance."

The committee was asked how the public would respond to students having computers in light of a recent incident where students saw pornographic material that was unintentionally put on the school district's shared system by a relative of the district's superintendent. "It's an unrelated issue," responded one board member.

Roth agrees. "Our kids deserve the best," she said. "We're not going to lose sight that we are here for the kids. Learning is changing, and we need to be on board."

Source: The Danville HawkEye, Danville hopes to give students laptops