The massive undertaking began five years ago when administrators from Southern Lehigh began investigating the potential of a 1:1 laptop program.  They visited Kutztown High School which implemented a 1:1 laptop initiative several years prior.

Another catalyst for the laptop initiative was the state Classrooms for the Future Grant given to Southern Lehigh a few years ago.

“That was the first infusion of technology in our classrooms,” Southern Lehigh High School Principal Mrs. Christine Siegfried said.

In preparation for the 1:1 initiative kickstart this year, the high school faculty split into committees  at the end of the 2011-2012 school year to tackle potential problems.  The committee that encountered the most problems was the logistics committee.

“So as we tried to think of ever blessed situation that might arise, some of us sat in the room and said, ‘You know what, we’re not giving the kids enough credit,” Siegfried said.  “We’re not going to be able to think of every situation that’s going to arise.  But let’s just try this and see what happens.’”

The high school administration met with each class as well as the faculty in the first days of school leading up to laptop distribution.  They explained the process and answered the “what if” inquiries of students and faculty alike.

On September 5, the administrators revealed the product of a time-consuming, $2 million investment: brand new Macbook Pro laptops.

Over the past few weeks, the administration has been pleased with the low number of technical problems and the responsibility the students have shown when handling the computers.

“We’ve spent a lot of time making sure the infrastructure is in place,” Mr. Ken Jordan, director of technology, said.

Mr. Rick Dreves is one of many teachers who worked on the logistics committee.  “It’s been successful because most of the things we were looking at seem to be covered,” he said.

Southern Lehigh’s response to the increasing technological capabilities of the 21st century is to infuse that technology into the high school.  The 1:1 laptop initiative does just that by giving students access to a plethora of 21st century resources and experiences while still maintaining a traditional high school setting.