Saco, Maine private high school Thornton Academy is negotiating a US$3 million deal to bring iBooks into the fold, according to a report from the Portland Press Herald. The plan is set to go into motion next fall.
Public school students in seventh and eighth grades throughout Maine have iBooks. The computers have generally been well received by students, teachers and parents alike, despite the cost and the state’s budgetary restrictions — so much so that some are discussing the possibility of expanding the program to the state’s high school students.
The director of instruction and the private school told a Portland Press Herald writer that officials at his institution have considered adding laptops to the curriculum for years. Officials from Thornton have traveled to other schools in the state and elsewhere to learn more about how those other schools are using laptops.
Still to be decided is whether to lease the computers from Apple or buy them outright. The school will pay for them using operating funds and private grant money, and could also be eligible to receive funding from the state, according to the report.