In the past two weeks, Bend La-Pine Schools has distributed 8,800 new iPads within the district in order to provide up-to-date technology for middle and high school students.
The iPads, which are Apple’s 11th-generation model, each come with a Logitech Rugged Combo 4 Touch keyboard specifically designed for students.
Individually, one new tech setup (iPad, charging block and cord and keyboard) cost the district approximately $433. This cost was increased as the district had to double its order for iPads after Apple redesigned its devices.
According to the director of Information Technology (IT) for the school district, Scott McDonald, “The iPad 10 changed the power supply to USB-C,” as well as removing the headphone jack. Apple’s latest models, including the iPad 11, also display these changes.
During the 2024–25 school year, the district refrained from purchasing their usual order of approximately 4,500 replacement iPads. They would inevitably have to purchase new keyboards and headphones in addition to the iPads, to accommodate the new device changes.
So where did the money come from to purchase this expensive order?
McDonald explained that the money came from two main places: the district’s IT funding and the district’s curriculum budget. While the IT funding is allocated specifically for technology, the curriculum budget is also used to cover some of the price, as iPads provide students access to necessary curriculum-focused apps such as Canvas and Clever.
The district’s total budget is also specifically centered on “student device support” this year because, according to McDonald, the district replaces devices every four to five years in order to provide students with current technology.
Each new Logitech keyboard costs $109, and was purchased by the district after it became overwhelmingly clear that students and teachers preferred devices with keyboards attached. Holly Dierdorff, a librarian at Summit High School who has been helping with iPad distribution, mentioned that “[typing] was a skill that we noticed students from Bend La-Pine didn’t have when they entered the workforce.” By attaching keyboards to the iPad cases the district is giving students more opportunities to improve their typing proficiency.
With a new tech setup for each student, however, comes an array of new tech issues. While many problems have been smoothed out within the past couple of weeks, Catherine Blue, a media tech who provides technological support to students at Summit High School, encouraged students to “keep coming back to the library if they need help.”
While the monetary investment has been large, the district administrators hope that the iPads, equipped with attached keyboards, will provide students with up-to-date technology that will be beneficial to students’ success in classroom learning and in typing mastery.
