MacBook rollout

Wood Schools begins staff MacBook rollout

PARKERSBURG - Wood County Schools’ technology department and specialists on Friday began the first part of a county-wide technology upgrade for professional staff.

Members of the district’s MIS team, which oversees Wood County Schools technology, gathered Friday morning at Mineral Wells Elementary School, the first of two pilot sites for the technology rollout.

MIS Director Johnathan Farley said 665 MacBook M1’s will be distributed to all elementary and middle school teachers, nurses and counselors in the coming weeks. Gihon Elementary School will be the second pilot location on Monday and all other units will be distributed before the end of January.

In 2020, Wood County Schools saw a dramatically increased need for up-to-date technologies as more and more resources and instruction moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farley said the new MacBooks will allow teachers and others to better meet the demands of online communication and instruction and the needs of students throughout the county.

Farley said the rollout would not have been possible without the support of the Wood County Board of Education, Superintendent Will Hosaflook and the dedicated efforts of Wood County Schools technology and curriculum staff members. 

“I am extremely proud of the MIS team, county TISs (Technology Integration specialists, and the C&I (Curriculum and Instruction) department for our collaborative effort in making this project start as smoothly as possible,” Farley said.  “Our collaborative efforts have given the professional personnel of Wood County a powerful instructional tool that will be reliable for both remote and in-person learning.”

More photos of the rollout Friday at Mineral Wells Elementary School are available on the WCS Facebook page.