PA Charter School To Deploy 1,400 OLPC XO Laptops

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[Editor's note: We had previously reported that the Chester deployment would be the largest XO notebook deployment in the United States. This is not the case. We apologize for the error. --D.N.]

Chester Community Charter School in Pennsylvania is deploying 1,400 XO laptops to students, one of the larger deployments of laptops from One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in the United States. The initial rollout will begin this week.

"Our students are being given the opportunity to have access to technological tools that are not only helpful but necessary in today's educational environment," said Steve Lee, chief executive officer of Chester Community Charter School, in a prepared statement released recently by the school. "The learning potential of our students is limitless and will continue to break new ground, especially with the assistance of these new laptops. CCCS is one of the nation's largest and most successful charter schools, committed to providing superior educational opportunities for our students. This initiative, and many others like it that CCCS has implemented over the years, proves the value of finding and supporting alternatives to traditional public school education."

The deployment will kick off Dec. 10, as 325 XO laptops will be rolled out to middle school students. (A kickoff event will be held that day.) The remainder will be distributed "within the following weeks," according to information released by CCCS.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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