Dear Families of Students Entering Grades 2-5,
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow our students to participate equitably in various possible educational scenarios this fall, each student in kindergarten and grades 1 through 12 will be issued an iPad for educational use. Returning students entering grades 6 through 8 and 10 through 12 will keep their currently-assigned iPad.
iPads for students in grades 2-5 will be distributed curbside by appointment at Shrewsbury High School during the weeks of August 3rd and 10th. To sign up for an appointment, please visit this link. During this appointment, families will receive the iPad, protective case, charging cable, charger, and personalized step-by-step setup instructions. iPads will be distributed to kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 9 students at a later date.
Similar to how students and their families are responsible for textbooks or other equipment issued to the student, families are responsible for protecting the iPad and are liable for any and all damage to, theft of, or loss of the device, accidental or otherwise. We strongly recommend that you purchase insurance for your child’s school iPad. More information and a link to purchase insurance can be found on our Private iPad Insurance page.
iPads for students in kindergarten through grade 4 will have access to the Safari web browser with access only to pre-approved educational websites at all times, regardless of what network students are on. Students in grades 5 and above have access to Safari filtered with Apple’s built-in “Limit Adult Content” filters. Parents may wish to set up additional filtering on their home network — more information is available on our Home Filtering & Parental Controls page.
Students will not have access to the App Store, but will be able to install apps that have been preapproved by the District using the “Self Service” icon on the iPad.
As the school-issued iPad, including certain specific apps and restrictions, will be the tool used by our educators for student learning assignments both at school and at home, and because the school district cannot coordinate or manage the content on personal devices, we are unable to support the use of family-owned devices instead of the school-issued iPad.
Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions can be found on our 1:1 Technology Program page.
If you have any questions, please reach out to parenttechsupport@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us and we will be glad to assist.
Respectfully,
Brian L’Heureux
Director of Information Technology
Shrewsbury Public Schools