New Kensington-Arnold teachers want your help to buy students Chromebooks

Remote learning can be hard on students, especially those who don’t have access to computers at home.

Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have watched their students struggle with that firsthand.

In response, they have started a GoFundMe asking people to donate money to buy laptops — Google Chromebooks specifically — for students whose parents can’t afford them or students who have to share them.

They haven’t been disappointed.

“We went totally grassroots, reached out to community, Viking alumni, teachers, friends, family, and it has really exploded,” said Stephanie Sakoian, a French teacher at Valley High School. “The generosity of the Viking family has been beyond expectation.”

Sakoian created the GoFundMe on Dec. 23. She started with a $1,000 fundraising goal. That was met within an hour.

She updated the fundraising goal to $6,000 Tuesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had exceeded $4,600.

“I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude,” Sakoian said. “When I first did this, I didn’t know where it would go.”

Two of the largest donations — $200 each — came from the Valley High School Student Council and alumnus Ian D. Henry. Henry is a recent graduate who is serving in the military, Sakoian said.

“This is kids helping other kids,” Sakoian said. “It’s really a community effort.”

Sakoian said the district has provided remote learning devices for students, but some have to share those devices with other children in their household. That can disrupt their learning.

“I’m a mother of three,” Sakoian said. “Through this distant learning, I have realized it is impossible to (be successful) while sharing a device.”

The fundraiser is being run solely by district teachers.

Sakoian said administrators are aware of the fundraiser and have encouraged it.

“I asked if I could do it, and they said, ‘Sure, go ahead,’ ” Sakoian said.

Superintendent Jon Banko didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

There isn’t a specific number of Google Chromebooks the teachers are looking to buy. They just want to buy as many as possible, Sakoian said.

They cost about $200 each.

The goal is to get the laptops to students by Monday, Jan. 4, so they can use them when the district resumes virtual learning that day.

The district tentatively plans to return to in-person classes Jan. 14. But Sakoian said such devices will be needed for future learning, too.

“I also look at these devices as the new textbook,” Sakoian said. “If you are a student who does not have a device to use even in school with the way education has changed because of the pandemic, you’re really at a disadvantage.”

English language arts teacher Erika Felack-Bucci is one of the teachers helping Sakoian with the fundraiser. She said virtual teaching and learning have been difficult for students and teachers.

Recently, Felack-Bucci asked her eighth-graders to fill out a survey and found several were doing all their schoolwork on their phones. She knew she needed to help them but couldn’t afford to go out and buy them all new devices.

“As teachers, we’re wired to help kids, and this was the best way we could think of to help them,” Felack-Bucci said. “Our students are so talented and intelligent, and some of them just need that extra push.”

“Handing a student a laptop to help him or her take ownership of his or her education is so powerful, and we just want to do all that we can to help all of our students succeed,” Felack-Bucci said.