George Mason Principal Mr. Tyrone Byrd’s Apple watch is one of fifteen that were distributed to administrators as a result of the superintendent and school board decision this past September. Since the purchase of the watches, the community has been filled with mixed feelings, as to whether the purchase is beneficial to the school system. (Photo by: Jessie Beddow)
CORRECTION: In the original post, the Lasso failed to include the information that the Superintendent, Dr. Toni Jones’, issued an apology and subsequently donated $5,000 to the school division in response to criticism about the watches.
FCCPS has recently made it’s newest technology purchase: fifteen Apple Watches. The announcement of the purchase was made by the school board on September 15. It was also discussed at the September 22 school board meeting, where questions were raised about the reasoning behind the purchase. Costing a total of $5,735, these watches have been distributed to FCCPS administrators, including the superintendent Dr. Toni Jones.
The schools argued that the purchase of the watches were important for certain tasks, such as stronger communication between administration, translating between languages, connecting and tracking movement through a health app, and scheduling/reminders of meetings and events.
The language translation feature of the watches proved useful earlier this month when a mother who spoke little English could not locate her child after the school day. Assistant Principal of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Ms. Michele Harcarik, used the watch to communicate with the ESOL parent.
According to a report published by FCCPS Communications on September 15: “Using a translator application on the Apple Watch FCCPS principals are equipped with this year, she was able to calm the mother’s fears and help locate her son…who had walked over to his friend’s house and forgot to call his mom.”
“Communication is always the primary focus for any school administration team. It’s critical for all of us to be accessible in a moments notice. If there is a tool that enhances communication, and it is within our reach to provide it, I believe our leaders should have access,” said Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones.
However, community members have raised concerns about how valuable the Apple Watches are, and whether the school system should have used the money in other ways. “I couldn’t understand why our school system would spend money on such a luxury gadget, given that they already have smart phones and computers,” said Stephanie Oppenheimer, MEHMS PTA member in an email sent to the FCCPS School Board.
Oppenheimer also raised questions in the email about whether the Apple Watch functions with or without a phone.
Jones replied to Oppenheimer and said; “If you didn’t have a phone at all, then the watch wouldn’t work. All of our administrative team have school issued iPhones. The [watches] operate off of bluetooth and can switch to our local wireless.”
In addition, School Board member Mr. Lawrence Webb is also in disagreement about the purchase of the watches.
“[Dr. Jones] was within her rights to make this purchase as it falls below the threshold of needing board approval. I currently do not agree [that] this was a beneficial purchase,” said Webb. “I need to see more in the way of data to back up that this was will be beneficial to the school division.”
Current Assistant Principal at George Mason, Mr. Kevin Clark, has found the purchase helpful and uses his watch in order to complete his day-to-day responsibilities at school.
“I would say the main way I use it is scheduling and communication,” said Clark.
In a response to community criticism on the Apple Watches, on October 8, Dr. Jones published a ‘Super-Note’ on the FCCPS website, including an informal apology for miscommunication.
“This was not a simple decision, and I apologize for not communicating it more clearly from the start,” said Jones.
