Baldwin County’s interim school superintendent is pushing back on rumors that the district’s laptop and tablet program is on its way out, insisting the devices remain a valuable classroom tool even as officials welcome new ideas for how they’re used.
Robbie Owen, who was serving as interim superintendent at the time, said in an interview that he had fielded questions from parents, teachers and principals about the county’s one-to-one technology initiative, known as Digital Renaissance. Owen said there was no truth to talk that certain schools or grade levels might stop using the iPads and MacBook Air laptops issued to students.
“We’ve said repeatedly … it’s one tool of many,” Owen said, stressing that the devices were never intended to replace teachers or become the primary way students learn.
Under the program, Baldwin County issues a laptop and backpack to each student in fourth grade and above, while younger students in kindergarten through third grade use devices at school but do not take them home. The initiative, launched by former Superintendent Alan Lee, expanded to include kindergarten students starting in January 2014.
Owen said the amount of classroom time spent on devices varies significantly by grade level and subject, with elementary schools generally relying on them far less than middle and high schools. He emphasized that teachers remain the central figures in Baldwin County classrooms.
“The teacher is the focus … that’s the main person in that classroom,” Owen said. “The teachers are the ones who bring instruction to life.”
The comments come after some parents previously asked the Baldwin County Board of Education to make clear that participation in Digital Renaissance is optional, not mandatory, for students and families. County officials have since begun referring to the initiative more broadly as the “one-to-one” program.
Owen’s remarks reflect an effort to steady the ship during a leadership transition for one of Alabama’s largest and fastest-growing school systems. Baldwin County has invested heavily in classroom technology in recent years, and school leaders have said they intend to keep gathering feedback from teachers and families as the program continues to evolve.
With enrollment climbing across Baldwin County’s schools, from Bay Minette to the Eastern Shore and the beach communities to the south, district leaders have said maintaining consistent messaging about technology use is a priority heading into the search for a permanent superintendent.