School buses begin delivering the tools for distance learning
Boxes of meals are moved into place for loading on Minneapolis Public School buses. Meals, along with Chromebooks and paper learning packets, are being distributed to district students in need. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini Staff Reporter
On a normal work day, Seak Chew makes sure school buses run on time and thousands of kids get dropped off where they need to go.
But the historic coronavirus pandemic has scrambled what was once his status quo.
Last Friday, Chew, a transportation manager for Minneapolis Public Schools, was elbow-deep in a tangle of cords that he was sorting and matching to hundreds of nearby laptop computers. He was readying Chromebooks for MPS bus drivers to deliver to school kids quarantined at home.
Minneapolis Public Schools’ transportation manager Seak Chew gets Chromebooks ready for bus drivers to deliver to students for distance learning. Photo by David Pierini
“This has been unbelievable,” said Chew, who spent the morning at the MPS Transportation Building matching up cords for two different models of laptops. “We’ve never dealt with anything like this before. We’re all worried about the virus, but this needs to be done.”
Drivers, partnered with school resource officers, began delivering computers last week as MPS mobilized to digitally restart an interrupted school year on April 6. Drivers dropped off about 3,200 computers last week and will continue delivering for at least the next two weeks.
Schools closed March 17 after Governor Tim Walz issued stay-at-home orders as part of a statewide effort to slow the spread of the virus. School districts across the state, including MPS, worked in crisis mode to pull together plans to use distance learning to finish the school year.
MPS is asking for patience from households yet to receive devices for their students.
“It will take some time to secure enough devices and internet connectivity for all students who need them,” a district spokesperson said. “Many other school districts are placing technology orders similar to ours, which will impact our timeline for receiving and distributing products.”
MPS households signed up for more than 7,000 Chromebooks.
Computers aren’t the only cargo. Busses are also delivering boxes of meals for students who need them and hard-copy homework packets for students without devices. There are even physical education bags with cones, hula hoops and jump ropes for homes with younger students.
The effort to bring resources to students has involved teachers, principals and administrators working long hours to inventory laptops (and clean them with disinfectant wipes), compile homework packets, and coordinate meals.
Transportation managers developed new routes and even set up robocalls to families, reminding them a bus would be by to deliver resources.
“I’ve been with the district 30 years and have never seen anything like this,” said transportation manager Steve Crenshaw. “It changes every day.”
Ben Lander, a transportation analyst, watched as several sets of hands loaded buses last Friday morning.
It was a chance for him to watch data from a screen come to life in realtime. Lander helped develop the routes and a mobile app with bus numbers, time schedules, addresses, student names, and the resources each student needs.
“Not long ago, something like would have taken months to set up,” Lander said. “Now we can pull all the data in and come up with a working solution in a matter of hours.”
Families interested in getting a Chromebook for their student need to contact MPS or fill out this form online.