Teachers receive laptops, Wake County schools move closer to remote learning launch

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Wake County Public School System said it is getting closer to launching its remote learning program.

"We are moving the speed that we believe we should be moving--in that we are trying to make sure that we are not moving at a speed where we are leaving people behind," WCPSS Chief Technology Officer Marlo Gaddis said.

As of Friday, nearly 1,900 laptops had been picked up at the Wake County School System central office in Cary.

"We've been busy preparing professional learning courses for our staff. We've also been working with folks around the district to make sure we are preparing appropriate expectations for this new type of learning," WCPSS Senior Director for Digital Learning and Libraries Allison Reid said.

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Each student will receive their own chrome book--equipment they already had inside Wake County classrooms. As far as teacher laptops go, they've already been paid for by a county bond and purchased in the fall of last year.

This move to more remote learning is something WCPSS was doing even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"The great news is we already had the plans to move forward in both, so as far as something affected by the coronavirus it is not something that we weren't already in plans to do," Gaddis said.

The next step will be distributing equipment to students. That could happen as early as this week for high school students.

Wake County is on track to have year-round students remote learning by this time next week. Traditional students should be up and running by April 13.