Technology Support for Families

During enrollment and each year after during verification, parents must review and sign the Technology Acceptable Use Policy(AUP).

• AUP - English (PDF)
• AUP-Español (PDF)
• AUP-العَرَبِيَّة (PDF)
• AUP-አማርኛ (PDF)
• AUP - Af Somali (PDF)

Students in grades 4-12 will also sign an Acceptable Use Policy when they complete their digital citizenship activity in the classroom at the beginning of the year. New students enrolling during the school year will sign one before receiving their school-issued laptop.

This handbook lays out our policies and best practices for student device use and care. Parents and students should review it together at least once per year, ideally before the school year begins.

download Student/Parent Device Handbook (PDF)

General Damage Information

The parent/guardian is responsible for the cost of repair or replacement if a laptop, iPad, or their accessories are damaged, not returned, lost, or stolen. We offer optional insurance to help reduce the cost of any needed repairs. 

Damage to district devices should be reported within two days. Technology staff will perform periodic inspections to ensure no damage goes unreported. Incidents which result in laptop damage involving multiple students will be investigated by building administration to determine fault. 

Insurance Details

Please note: The previously free technology insurance offered to students in Kindergarten-fourth grade has ended. For protection against unwanted costs due to device damage or loss, be sure to opt-in to technology insurance during Online Verification. The costs are reflected below.

Parents choose to accept or deny insurance coverage during enrollment or verification. The premium payment is due 30 days from when the student begins to attend school. If you deny insurance coverage or do not pay the premium within the time allowed, all damages will be charged at cost. A chart of the most common damages and their repair costs can be found on page 15 of the One-to-One Student/Parent Laptop Handbook (PDF).

Optional Annual Insurance

Laptops(grades 2-12):

• $50 premium for full year coverage
• $25 for free/reduced program participants

iPads (grades k-1):

• $30 premium for full year coverage
• $15 for free/reduced program participants

Claims and Deductibles

$50 damage deductible per incident
$150 deductible for stolen(police report required) or irreparably damaged laptop

Items Below Insurance Deductible (charged at cost)

$20 charger/power adapter
$10 pen/stylus
$20 protective sleeve

Items Not Covered by Insurance

$25 fee for removal or damage to asset tags and other official labels.
$25 cleaning fee for laptops that have been drawn, painted, or marked on, defaced, or had unapproved stickers attached. School approved stickers are acceptable.
Insurance coverage also will not apply in cases of:

• Damage due to dishonest, fraudulent, malicious, or criminal acts
• Damage due to usage not in accordance with district policies and procedures.
• Additional damages due to failure to protect device from further harm after initial damage occurs.
• Disappearance of device not reported to law enforcement
• Loss due to negligence
• Failure to return device or accessories at the end of school or prior to leaving the district

If you have questions about insurance or device damage policies, please contact the technology Help Desk at 816-359-5000.

As part of our commitment to ensuring success for all students, Park Hill School District is offering free wireless hotspots to families without reliable internet access at home. High-speed internet access is essential to one-to-one learning, as it allows students to have continuous access to school resources and to make full use of their district-issued laptop or iPad for learning.

Families who do not have high-speed or reliable internet access at home are encouraged to apply by contacting their student's teacher, social worker, school counselor or filling out the .pdf form below and emailing it to servicedesk@parkhill.k12.mo.us.

Wireless Hotspot Fillable Form.pdf

Notes about Hotspots

• Hotspot service is provided for the 2021-2022 school year by T-Mobile's Project 10Million.
• Students will be issued hotspots as they become available. Early signup up is ideal for getting a hotspot sooner.
• Hotspots have 100GB of data for the entire year, which is about 1200 hours of basic internet browsing. Please note that streaming and downloads use up more data than basic browsing. Once the data is used up there is no way to renew, so please keep hotspot usage to schoolwork. 
• Students who are returning to school the following year may keep their hotspot through the summer. If a student leaves the district, they must return their hotspot along with their school-issued device.

The Park Hill School District is a CoSN certified Trusted Learning Environment, which signifies that we have taken strong and measurable steps to help ensure the privacy of student data.

Learn more about the TLE Seal

The Park Hill School District and the Department of Technology believe that data privacy and security are crucial to the safety of our community in our increasingly connected world. We have been entrusted with private information about our staff and students and we will protect this data and the trusted relationship with our users to the utmost of our ability. The following policies, along with all applicable state and federal laws, govern our use and management of student data:

Board of Education Policy EHBC - Data Governance and Security (PDF)
Board of Education Regulation JO-R : Student Records (PDF)
Notification of Privacy Rights under PPRA (PDF)

Our teachers strive to provide students with a robust and meaningful classroom experience, which often includes the use of various web-based technology tools, applications, and services. Each application must be vetted by the Department of Technology. We evaluate the application’s privacy policy, terms of service, technical quality, etc., to ensure our student, staff and district data is kept secure and confidential.

As each course, classroom, and teacher has unique technology needs, it is important that teachers and students have input when choosing which applications meet their educational needs. This is why our vast list of approved applications may include many programs that have similar functionality, and newly approved applications are constantly being added. Technology ensures the applications are safe, and teachers choose the application that best meets the needs of their classrooms.

View the Approved Applications List

According to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): 

Digital citizenship is about much more than online safety — or a long list of don’ts. It’s also about the do’s that help create thoughtful, empathetic digital citizens who can wrestle with the important ethical questions at the intersection of technology and humanity. Those do’s include:

• Using technology to make your community better.
• Engaging respectfully online with people who have different beliefs than you.
• Using technology to make your voice heard by public leaders and to shape public policy.
• Determining the validity of online sources of information.

This new lens focuses on empowering learners to be in community with others in online spaces and showing them that digital citizenship goes beyond conversations about personal responsibility. It’s about being active citizens who see possibilities instead of problems and opportunities instead of risks as they curate a positive and effective digital footprint.

In Park Hill, we use Neptune Navigate's digital citizenship modules to provide a comprehensive and thought-provoking learning experience for our students.

The following resources are a snapshot of the variety of online tools available to teachers, parents, and students concerned about digital citizenship. We encourage you to use them as a starting point for essential conversations about online behavior and safety. 

Common Sense Media
Information for parents and educators about what kids are encountering and consuming online. Includes a robust digital citizenship curriculum to reinforce good technology habits in the classroom and at home.

Be Internet Awesome
Developed by Google working with the Family Online Safety Institute, this site has tips and guides for families, and a fun interactive game for kids to learn about digital safety. 

START (Stand Together And Rethink Technology)
START equips parents and community members to be mentors and guides so kids can grow up happy and healthy in an increasingly digital world.

Family Online Safety Institute
Tools and rules for navigating the web confidently with your family.

NetSmartz
Tipsheets, videos and lesson plans for online safety.

Internetmatters.org
From age-specific online safety checklists to guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, you’ll find a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world.

Parenting in a Digital World
Advice for the connected family from Verizon Wireless.

Stop.Think.Connect.
Resources from the National Cyber Security Alliance on digital safety for everyone.

PBS Technology Literacy
Videos, lesson plans, and more about many different facets of digital responsibility for students.

Through Infinite Campus, Parents/Guardians have the ability to stay up to date on grades, attendance, schedules, announcements, and much more.  To access Campus Parent, please contact your student's school to receive your unique Campus Parent Activation Key, then see Getting Started below.

Schoology serves as a “digital hub” to keep classwork organized and easily accessible. Some teachers use Schoology to post their classroom materials online or give assessments. It provides a safe forum for students to discuss their ideas and collaborate on projects and for teachers to assign and collect assignments electronically.

Park Hill School District parents/guardians have access to a READ-ONLY version of their students Schoology accounts so they can keep up-to-date on what's happening in the classroom. Please note that not all teachers use Schoology in the same way or to the same degree, so speak with your student's teacher if you have questions.