Chromebooks have become integral to our school. At this point, nearly every subject from biology to US history requires a laptop for in-class use, and for most students, their school-issued chromebook is their only option. This system works well for most students, but an issue lies in the battery of these laptops. 

Just this Wednesday, senior Zeke Sysavathly asked me “Do you have a chromebook charger?”\This question has become a common cry for assistance from people who have forgotten to charge their laptops overnight, or from people who don’t have a charger at all. Both of these issues could be fixed by adding an in-school way to charge your chromebook. Students should not be left at a permanent disadvantage for losing a charger given to you your first day of freshman year. The only reason I still have mine is because I haven’t moved it from my desk at home for the past 3 years.

I can not stress the importance of chromebooks in a student’s daily school life enough, nearly every class needs them, students rely on them for their college applications, and the SAT has even migrated onto student’s laptops. A perfectly new chromebook has a little under a 10 hour battery life if used perfectly, but after multiple years of use, it’s battery deteriorates, making it not last even 2 school days. So why isn’t there a place to charge them? Something simple, like 20 different charging cables in tech center 2 or the library would be more than enough to help out the students who need it. Letting students use public chargers during their lunch periods would make their days much easier without much of an added cost to the school.

Overall, as we move into a more tech oriented environment where our chromebooks are used more and more, students will always need a place to charge them during the school day, and our school making that option available is a simple fix that would benefit all students of all grade levels.