Episode Details

Theresa Stager, principal of a pre-K through 8 Catholic school in Michigan, explains how she launched a 1:1 iPad program in her first year: a fourth grade pilot in October, a full rollout at the end of January, and a yearly fee that pays for replacements. She also covers social media rules and how a new principal can build policies from scratch.

Stager shares the numbers. Her school bought 11 extra iPads to cover the 8 percent Apple said would fail, fixes screens with a $180 repair kit instead of paying Apple $200, and plans to sell used iPads for $25 to $30 after four years. She also tells new principals to change only what must change.

What you'll learn

• Pilot with one volunteer teacher's class first, as Stager did in fourth grade, and fix the bugs before a full rollout.
• Plan for breakage: buy about 8 percent extra devices, charge families a small insurance fee, and repair screens yourself.
• Tell parents the iPads enhance instruction and don't replace it, and hold a meeting the day you hand them out.
• Write down what long-time staff and secretaries already do before you write new policies, and change only what must change.
• Keep licenses, handbooks and emergency plans in one binder, with a labeled page protector for each item.

Chapters

• 0:00 Why a small school chose 1:1 iPads
• 5:23 Pitching iPads to the school board
• 7:58 Funding iPads and insuring them yourself
• 11:34 A tech fee and a four-year replacement plan
• 14:20 Answering parents' screen time concerns
• 16:40 Apple IDs, acceptable use and social media rules
• 22:01 Writing policies from scratch as a new principal
• 31:16 One binder for licenses, handbooks and plans

Times are for the episode without ads. Your player may be off by the length of any ads.

Questions this episode answers

How do you pay for a 1:1 iPad program at a small school?
Stager's school bought iPads with a donor fund left to local Catholic schools, and the priest decided it didn't have to be repaid. Families now pay a $50 yearly tuition increase as a technology fee, saved to replace iPads after four years, and the school sells the old ones.

How do you handle iPad breakage in a school?
Apple told Stager about 8 percent of iPads would die or break, so her school bought 11 extra and self-insures. Families pay $20 a year, capped at $50. She uses a $180 repair kit and screens costing about $30, and sends dead units back to Apple under warranty.

What should a new principal do about school policies and procedures?
Stager says to change only what must change. If policies don't exist, interview long-time staff and secretaries, write down what they already do, then review it in three or four months with small committees. She also asked other principals for copies, such as an acceptable use policy.

About Theresa Stager

Principal of a pre-K through 8 Catholic school in Michigan, who also serves as her school's tech director.

Links and resources

• Rate the podcast on iTunes
• Rate the podcast on Stitcher
• Jethro Jones on Twitter
• Transformative Principal on Twitter
• Theresa Stager show notes
• The Paperless Principal book

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