As the Dayton Public School District prepares to begin the year virtually, families should be assured that all students in need of devices or access to the internet will be accommodated. 

DPS has spent well over $6 million on technology for students since schools initially went online in March. In addition, several organizations have generously donated funding or devices to the district. 

Among them:

• 1,200 phone hotspots were donated by The Connor Group.
• The Tait Foundation granted $50,000 to use to purchase Chromebooks.
• Several organizations donated $300,000 to Learn to Earn Dayton to purchase Chromebooks for students in Montgomery County. From that donation, DPS is expected to receive 128 Chromebooks. An additional $25,000 was also donated by 5th/3rd for technology purchases specifically for DPS.
• Golden Technology donated 25 iPads and chargers.
• The Rotary Club of Dayton donated 1,900 masks with the Dayton logo on them. The project was a 50/50 partnership between the Rotary Club of Dayton and District 6670.
• Southbrook City LIghts, from Southbrook Christian Church, donated 700 masks to DPS.

“We are so grateful to have these devices for our students to use to continue learning at home and even in the classroom once they return,” said Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli. “Additionally, the community support DPS has received for masks and supplies has been so helpful. We could not meet our student and family needs without these donations from so many of our community partners.”

All devices loaned to students by the district will be equipped with learning software to allow students to continue to use important programs used in classrooms — such as MindPlay, ALEKS and Successmaker — while they are at home. Successmaker is new software for this school year. If students still have the chromebooks from last spring, those devices will not have the new software loaded. 

Additionally, the district is prepared to distribute WiFi hotspots to homes where a strong WiFi signal is needed. In the spring, the district provided internet access through stationing buses equipped with WiFi throughout the city. This allowed students to connect to the internet from their homes for several hours Monday through Thursday to complete school work. With this new WiFi plan, each family will have WiFi access in their homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the digital divide in Dayton — and across the country — to become startlingly apparent. While some students could easily transition to at-home learning, students without devices or internet access suddenly could not access their education. 

The Dayton Public School District has worked to ensure this divide will not impact students’ education. All students will begin the school year with the tools they need to watch lessons, join virtual classrooms and complete all assignments. 

Principals will contact families closer to the start of school to distribute these devices. Students will learn online for the first nine weeks of the school year beginning Tuesday, September 8th. After the initial nine-week period, virtual learning may be extended for an additional nine weeks, or in-person classes may resume. This depends on the COVID-19 situation in Montgomery County at that time. 

The district is currently working with the Montgomery County Department of Health to develop benchmarks to determine when it is safe to return to school. DPS families will continue to be updated on all district decisions throughout the remainder of the summer and during the first nine weeks of virtual learning. 

Families with questions about the restart plan may visit DPSRestart.com or call the district’s COVID-19 hotline at 937-542-5427.