The Dothan City, Ala., School District announced the creation of a virtual help desk to provide technical support for devices provided by Dothan City Schools (DCS).
As students adapt to learning virtually, parents are struggling with helping their children overcome technology obstacles.
Meagan Dorsey, DCS public information officer, told local news channel WTVY, that the goal of the help desk is to ease the burden placed on parents. “They don’t have to figure out how to fix a computer on top of teaching, were making sure we put those tools out there in there hands so they can continue to do what they do best, be the parents for their kids as well as provide the encouragement and nurturing environment,” Dorsey said.
DCS is working with its staff, as well as local colleges to staff the helpdesk, which is available free of charge for students and parents. Through the partnership, local college students will be employed as part-time technicians. Funding for the new part-time positions comes from both DCS’ personnel resources, as well as a grant from the Wiregrass Foundation.
“Through the Wiregrass Foundation and utilizing personnel resources we were able to employ part-time college students to assist us with this program,” Dorsey said. “Currently we have one student who is working remotely but we’re hoping to hire some more in the coming weeks so we can continue to grow and continue to have this program flourish.”
Parents have already responded positively to the new help desk, which is be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Jadaryn Edwards, employee for DCS technology help desk, told WTVY that parents are “[Parents are] calling, they’re stressing and I know how it can be sometimes but I’m taking all the weight off their shoulders.” Edwards continued, “me and the support team that we do have, we’re all working our hardest to relieve the stress of the parents so the kids can start a better education by having access to what they need.”
