Kansas Middle School Cuts Back on Chromebooks as School Tech Backlash Grows

A Kansas School Scales Back Chromebook Use

Inge Esping, the principal of McPherson Middle School in McPherson, Kan., has spent years battling digital devices for children’s attention.

Four years ago, the school banned student cellphones during the school day. But digital distractions continued as many students watched YouTube videos or played video games on their school-issued Chromebook laptops. Some also used school Gmail accounts to bully fellow students.

In December, the school asked all 480 students to return the Chromebooks they had previously used in class and at home. The laptops are now kept in carts in classrooms and used sparingly for specific activities assigned by teachers.

Back to Handwritten Notes and Textbooks

Students now take notes mostly by hand, reflecting a broader shift away from constant device use in class. The school has also brought back more traditional classroom tools, including textbooks and pencils.

Esping said the decision came after the school concluded that Chromebooks had become too large a distraction.

“We just felt we couldn’t have Chromebooks be that huge distraction,” she said. “This technology can be a tool. It is not the answer to education.”

Part of a Wider School Tech Backlash

McPherson Middle School, about an hour’s drive from Wichita, is at the forefront of a growing backlash in education over student technology use, extending beyond concerns about cellphones.

Some seventh graders say they prefer learning offline, underscoring how the school’s shift has resonated with at least some students as classrooms move toward more limited and deliberate use of laptops.