• Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) Alumni Campus

    Six Houston ISD middle schools, including Tanglewood Middle School, were originally accepted into the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program for the 2020-21 school year. This is an education initiative of the Verizon Foundation. Twelve additional Houston ISD middle schools were added in 2021-22, and another eight in 2022-23. After a rigorous competitive process, Houston ISD was identified by the Verizon Foundation’s non-profit partner, Digital Promise, as meeting all criteria for participation. Each VILS partner school  received an in-kind award of Chromebooks for all students, teachers, and administrators, professional development, and digital instructional resources. Each Chromebook came equipped with a data plan that provided “always-available” access outside of the classroom. Funds were provided for a full-time Campus Instructional Technologist dedicated to providing teachers with the pedagogical support to effectively leverage technology in the classroom. The initial VILS program is for two years, with the possibility of a two-year extension in the second year. Tanglewood MS is proud to have completed over three years in the program and is now recognized as an Alumni Campus by VILS.

     

    Technology in our School - What is required from parents/guardians?

    1. All parents/guardians and students need to complete the required documentation and turn it in to the school.

    2. Each student must pay the non-refundable yearly $25 fee (either in cash or through SchoolPay online).

    3. We are also asking all families to complete the HISD Socioeconomic form. This form helps obtain necessary funding through Title 1 and State Compensatory Funding.

     

    Need assistance with your student Chromebook?

    If you are having problems with the student Chromebook or charger, please follow these steps:

    1. Ask the student to first ask a classmate if they know how to fix the problem. Several students have been part of our Gator Tech Team and may be able to help.

    2. Ask the student to try asking their teacher for help. Several of our staff know how to do basic troubleshooting.

    3. If the student has tried steps 1 and 2, have them take the Chromebook and/or charger with them to Mrs. Railsback. She is located on the first floor in the downstairs assistant principal's office in room 190.

    4. If your student is at home during school hours due to illness, injury, or other circumstances, and the problem is minor, they can email Mrs. Railsback ( arailsba@houstonisd.org ) for assistance. 

    Help us help our students take care of their Chromebooks!

    Each student will be issued ONE device and charger at the beginning of their enrollment time at Tanglewood Middle School (after receipt of completed paperwork packet and payment of the required fee).

    If the device is lost or damaged, it must be reported to Mrs. Railsback right away. Any fees will need to be paid as soon as possible.The student will then be placed on the "day user" list and will not be allowed to take a device off campus. Instead, they will need to check out a loaner device in the morning, and then return that device before the end of the school day. They will NOT be allowed to take it home for any reason.

    If we are not able to treat these devices with care and respect, we may not be able to provide devices in the future.

    Stickers:

    Students need to remove any personal stickers they have placed on their Chromebooks.

    The Chromebooks belong to Tanglewood MS, and should only have the stickers that Mrs. Railsback has placed on them (example: the Tanglewood crest, the clear pouch containing their name card, and the inventory tags located on the back). 

    Any official stickers need to stay there and not be removed or drawn on.

    General Care:

    There has been an increase in Chromebooks being turned in with damaged hinges and/or missing keys from the keyboard, as well as cracked screens. These are rarely covered under the warranty and are very costly to repair. 

    Students should NOT use tablet mode to help prevent damage to their hinges. We understand regular wear and tear - however, intentional damage or neglect will result in additional fees for repairs. (See Chromebook Financial Responsibility for more information.)

    Chromebook keys do not just “fall off” of the keyboard - it takes purposeful force to remove them. There will be a $79 fee to repair/replace missing keys.

    Some of the devices (but not all) have touch screens which incur a fee of $200 for screen damage.   

    Chargers:

    Students need to charge their Chromebook overnight. If a student has a charger that no longer works correctly, they should let Mrs. Railsback know as soon as possible so that she can see about getting a replacement.

    If a student chooses to bring their charger to school, they need to keep it in their backpack and make sure they get it back should they choose to loan it to a friend during class time. Lost chargers have a replacement fee of $32.

    Students who do not have working chargers can bring their Chromebook to Mrs. Railsback and she can charge it for them during the day. It is their responsibility to come get it later in the day.

    Wi-Fi

    School issued Chromebooks should automatically connect to the district Wi-Fi while on campus.

    At home, students may connect to their home internet by locating it in the network settings and entering the correct password.