Late laptops scramble remote learning plans at Greensburg Salem, other school districts

When Greensburg Salem School District officials learned more than 1,000 laptops would not be arriving in time for the start of classes, they agreed to delay the school year rather than begin without the technology they’re counting on.

Then, the laptops were delayed again, this time until October, leaving officials scrambling to find a way to teach kids without the technology needed for virtual learning.

“There’s no way I’m going to delay school a second time, so we are working on a plan using the devices we have received to implement a blended learning model,” said Superintendent Gary Peiffer.

He did not learn about the latest delay until late last week.

School was supposed to start Wednesday. The school board this month decided to delay it until Sept. 8. The laptops, paid for with federal coronavirus relief funds, were originally set to arrive Aug. 8.

Greensburg Salem is one of many school districts that haven’t received the laptops they ordered in preparation for an unorthodox school year that relies heavily on remote learning.

“It’s pretty much nationwide,” said Eric Vaughan, director of technology and infrastructure for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit. “Every manufacturer was slammed with all this influx of orders, unexpectedly and all at once.”

Lenovo, HP and Dell — the world’s three largest computer manufacturers — told school districts they have a shortage of nearly 5 million laptops nationwide, according to the Associated Press.

Southmoreland School District used federal coronavirus relief money to order almost 2,000 Dell Chromebooks. They are not set to arrive until January.

“As with everything, it’s going to make things difficult for us,” said John Puskar, technology coordinator for the district.

Students who have their own laptops will be encouraged to use them, and the district has a fleet of aging laptops it can give students until the new ones arrive, Puskar said.

Districts should rely on their existing technology as long as possible, because new computers are still a long way off, Vaughan said.

“Any device is better than no device,” he said.

That’s not an option at Greensburg Salem, which doesn’t have enough computers to provide to every student, Peiffer said.

The district has adopted a hybrid approach, with students spending some days at school and some learning from home to curtail the spread of covid-19. The plan was to give students laptops so they could learn from home online, but officials are now looking into other options.

Teachers likely will resort to traditional paper homework and projects for days students are not in school.

“I think people are trying to be proactive and creative with how we deliver instruction,” Peiffer said. “We don’t want to postpone school any longer than we have to, but we’re going to have to look for other ways to deliver assignments.”

Other local school districts waiting on delayed laptops include Mt. Pleasant Area, Yough, Burrell and Allegheny Valley.