Credit: Ainsley Jay

Currently, all students at WHS receive a MacBook Air to use for school and other various assignments. At the Wayland Middle School, however, students receive Chromebooks as their school issued device.

Starting in the fall of 2026, Wayland High School students will transition from MacBooks to Chromebooks as their school issued device, a result of recent updates on student technology program. According to the Wayland Public Schools Director of Technology Jennifer Judkins, the change is due to the district’s current device lease expiring, leading administrators to consider alternative options for the student issued devices.WHS leases the MacBooks on four year cycles with Apple, with the current MacBook lease ending this summer.

“Every time the leases come up for all of our equipment, we evaluate the device that we have and look at what other competitive products are available,” Judkins said.

Judkins said another major factor in the decision was how well Chromebooks integrate with the district’s existing technology systems. Wayland schools rely heavily on Google Workspace tools, such as Google Docs, Google Drive and Google Classroom.

“Chromebooks integrate really effectively with our Google Workspace environment,” Judkins said. “It allows us to manage the devices really effectively.”

According to Judkins, managing hundreds of student devices is another major consideration for the district’s technology department with the high school alone having nearly 900 student devices that must be regularly maintained and secured.

“When our team is responsible for making sure students can very quickly get a swapped out device, or if there’s an important change we have to make for security reasons, this platform allows us to manage them through our Google admin console,” Judkins said.

Some students have expressed concern that the new devices will be the same Chromebooks they used while attending Wayland Middle School.

“I’m honestly really disappointed that we’re switching to the Chromebooks because I really enjoy using my Macbook, and I always just felt like [Chromebooks] were pretty laggy and not as good quality as the Macbooks,” sophomore Teddy Lehmann said.

Judkins said the models students will receive at the high school will be significantly better than the ones previously received at WMS.

“[It will be] a pretty different device than what we give students [at the middle school],” Judkins said. “You probably wouldn’t recognize them as a Chromebook if it didn’t have a label on the cover.”

The district plans to issue larger, higher performance “Chromebook Plus” devices to high school students. According to Judkins, compared to the WMS Chromebooks, the devices will have increased memory, faster processors and a 14 inch screen.

“[The Chromebooks will be] higher end devices,” Judkins said. “The specifications are quite a bit higher than what students would be familiar with at the middle school.”

The classes that rely on software provided by the MacBooks, such as Computer Science classes, Music Production Studio and others, may still use MacBooks, according to Judkins. The district has been working with department heads to identify programs that may require different hardware. Depending on what classes students take, some students could borrow MacBooks and use them for those necessary classes.

Additionally, students will not be able to use personal devices during classes and will be required to utilize the school issued technology. This means that starting next year, unauthorized devices, such as personal MacBooks, will not be able to connect to the WiFi network. According to Judkins, this restriction will help ensure consistent technology access and security. Judkins also mentioned that phones may be unavailable to connect to the WiFi networks next year, but it is still uncertain, and administrators are still discussing it.

“We really want to make sure there’s a consistent and fair experience for teachers and students,” Judkins said. “That there’s equity so that students aren’t using completely different devices in class.”

The district is still testing several Chromebook models with the student run club “Genius Bar” before making a final decision. According to Judkins, feedback has been reported as generally positive so far.

“My hope is that when students actually have these devices in their hands [in the fall], they’ll be pleased with the quality and speed of them,” Judkins said.