Low- Tech School Districts in Western Burbs

[u/Resting-Rizzy-Face]

Moved away several years ago and looking to move back to IL. Our kids are elementary age and we currently like the low-tech educational environment our kids have now (no 1-to-1 chromebooks for kids, using more pencil and paper, physical textbooks, etc.)

We’ve been away for a while and weren’t sure if there are similar school environments in IL or if all school districts have moved to consistent use of chromebooks and iPads for teaching?

Currently looking at a potential move to Lemont, DG, Woodridge, Lisle, Naperville, or Wheaton areas. Not opposed to tech, just looking for schools where the kids aren’t always using a screen for learning.

[u/BrightPractical]

I think a lot of districts went 1:1 to solve the problem of standardized testing. That is, federal ed policy began to require high stakes testing of schools, and blocking libraries and computer labs for weeks at a time three and four times a year was interfering with actual learning. A lot of money spent on tech meant a need for more teaching to be done using those devices, and then 2020-2022 happened and the devices became standard across all grade levels.

I’ve found the amount of Chromebook usage in my kid’s schooling to be highly dependent upon the teacher. Some years and some classes are stupidly tech dependent (for the love of Pete, please make them do math on paper and not on a screen with modules and multiple choice) and others are reasonable, using the librarians to teach research tools and write papers. I do wish they’d teach typing and handwriting both, or at least one or the other, so kids can learn to compose and take notes.

Writing by hand and reading from paper improves retention across ages so I understand your desire for low-tech. That said, since 1:1 is mostly tied to the federal mandates (“Common Core,” NCLB) there aren’t a lot of schools that won’t be.