1:1 Program

The goals of the 1:1 program are to enhance and accelerate learning, leverage technology for individualizing instruction, provide teachers with a consistent and reliable platform for instructional delivery, promote collaboration, increase student engagement, and strengthen the skills necessary for future student success. These goals can be accomplished regardless of student learning location or individual ability to purchase technology. Students in grades K-8 use an iPad. Students in grades 9-12 use a MacBook Neo.

Students must comply with the school’s Acceptable Use Policy and Expectations for Technology Use guidelines or risk losing the privilege to take the device home or use it at school. The device is the property of Minnehaha Academy and as a result may be seized and reviewed at any time. The student should have NO expectation of privacy of materials found on their issued device.

Lease Agreement

All currently enrolled students at Minnehaha Academy receive a device. Students in grades 6-12 bring their device home daily. Lower School iPads are not sent home with students on a daily basis. Exceptions are rare and intentional (e.g., a 4th or 5th grader finishing a significant writing project), and parents are always notified.

Parents or guardians of an enrolled Minnehaha Academy student ("You") hereby assume full responsibility for the risk of loss, property damage, or theft of the device. You acknowledge that you are responsible to pay for the cost to repair or, at Minnehaha’s determination, replace the device if it is damaged, stolen, lost, or otherwise rendered incapable of proper and full use.

You hereby voluntarily waive any and all claims, both present and future, arising from Your child(ren) taking home or using a device, including but not limited to, negligence, property damage, and personal injury. You agree to release from liability Minnehaha Academy, its Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff and any of their agents (together, “Releasees”) jointly and separately from any claims, loss, liability, damage, or cost You may incur due to Your child(ren)’s taking home or using the device. You expressly agree that this Agreement is intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by laws of the State of Minnesota, and that if any portion thereof is held invalid, it is agreed that the balance shall notwithstanding, continue in full legal force and effect. By enrolling your student at Minnehaha Academy you agree to participate in the 1:1 Program and its Lease Agreement.

Care and Maintenance

General Handling

Transport safely: Bring your device to school every day. Handle it with care and pack it securely in your backpack.
Protect from damage: Never throw, slide, or place heavy weight on the device. Keep it away from food, liquids, and sharp objects.
Avoid temperature extremes: Never leave your device in direct sunlight or inside a vehicle, as extreme heat or cold will damage the components.

Cases & Accessories

Keep it protected: Your device must remain in the school-issued case, close it when not in use to save battery life and protect the screen.
Third-party cases are not permitted. If a student removes their device from its school-issued case, school administration will directly notify the family of the policy violation. If a device is damaged while outside of its school-issued case, and/or the student has been reported to not be using the school issued case, the school will not cover any part of the repair fee, and the cost of any repairs will be the financial responsibility of the family.
Stickers: Students may personalize their case with appropriate stickers that do not cover their name label on the lid or the Minnehaha Tech Label on the bottom of the device.
Accessories: you may purchase a personal Bluetooth-enabled stylus (such as an Apple Pencil) for your student's academic use. Please note that families are entirely responsible for tracking, charging, and safeguarding any personal accessories brought to school.

Battery & Charging

Charge nightly: Use the provided wall charger to fully charge your device at home every night. Arriving to class with a dead battery disrupts your learning.

Screen & Cleaning

Handle glass with care: Device screens are fragile and vulnerable to cracking. Avoid tapping the screen with sharp objects.
Clean safely: Wipe the screen with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth. Never use window cleaners, household sprays, alcohol, or abrasives, as they destroy the screen's protective coating. Keep moisture away from all ports and openings.

Security & Responsibility

Personal responsibility: You are solely responsible for the care of your assigned device. Never leave it unattended or lend it to another student. Unattended devices will be collected and taken to the main office.
Secure your login: Set up a secure passcode or fingerprint ID to protect your personal data.
Asset tags: Do not alter, deface, or remove the unique school identification numbers or barcodes on the device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I supply my own device instead of using an MA-issued device?

Students must use school-provided devices. These devices are curated, updated, and tracked by the MA Technology Department. Specific tools used by classroom teachers are added to your child’s device, and other tools that are not appropriate or necessary are blocked. There is also an extensive filtering system on websites and public spaces. Teachers also have the ability to use class management tools like Apple Classroom to monitor student devices and/or focus them on a specific app, thereby reducing classroom distractions and ensuring that all students are on task. In addition, all of the devices perform in the same way so teachers do not need to spend valuable instructional time troubleshooting personally owned devices.

What is the cost of the 1:1 program?

The device and associated costs (i.e., case, the management software, and subscription and app-related costs) are built into the tuition and fee structure.

Additional costs may be incurred for damaged or lost devices. Students who are not enrolled for the following semester must return their device during their last week at school while still enrolled or will be billed for the cost of a replacement device.

What happens if an MA device needs repair?

The student brings the damaged device to the Tech Office and it is immediately replaced with another device. Students are encouraged to backup their information frequently so that we can help them to restore their data back onto the device. All families are automatically enrolled in our Universal Device Protection Plan, which waives the first incident of accidental damage over a four year time span (except in cases where the device needs to be replaced). Parents are notified via email of the damage and are billed for the cost of the repair or replacement:

iPad: $429
iPad charger: $19
iPad K-3 case: $18
iPad 6-8 case: $108
iPad screen repairs start at $99, other repair costs vary

MacBook Neo: $699
Neo charger: $19
Neo case: $22
Neo screen repairs start at $199, other repair costs vary

Costs may change depending on future price and product changes. These terms shall apply until the device and accessories issued are returned.

What happens if my student loses their MA device?

Students are encouraged to first search for their device in the last location they remember using it. Specialized software enables us to track the location of the device and prevent tampering from unauthorized users. We notify parents via email of the missing device and students may receive a loaner until their device has been found or replaced. If the device has not been found within seven days, then you will receive a replacement device and the loaner must be returned. Parents and students will be billed for a replacement device.

What happens if my student forgets their device?

What sort of filters and restrictions are on the device?

A school-wide network filter is in place on all school devices which blocks inappropriate websites regardless of whether the device is on or off campus. It should be noted that no filter is 100% accurate, which is why we partner with parents in instructing their kids about potential dangers on the web, and what to do if inappropriate content is ever encountered.

Student devices do not have the Apple App Store available. Instead, students download tools from our faculty-curated catalog, Self Service. Messages, FaceTime, and a number of other tools may also disabled depending on grade level.

How can parents support safe device use at home?

All Minnehaha devices have built-in filtering software blocking access to inappropriate sites regardless of whether the device is at school or off campus. This built-in filter overrides any filtering you may have at home.

Apple's Screen Time tool makes it much easier to understand your use of technology. This feature enables the user (or parent) to set time limits and block apps, create downtimes for homework/sleep/dinner etc., set up password protection if necessary and more. It also totals time spent in apps, number of times the device is turned on and number of notifications received. (Note that Apple Screen Time can be used on school devices, but remote monitoring of it will not work from your personal iPhone through Family Sharing like it does to monitor a child's iPhone from a parent's iPhone.)

Children often have complete, unrestricted access to inappropriate sites on other devices such as home computers and personal cell phones. Experts strongly suggest installing software to filter and block inappropriate content on your wireless home network. Read more about filters on our Digital Health & Wellness page.