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Cary, Wake County

Wake County: Board hears students and principals on classroom devices

WUNC and WRAL covered Tuesday's Student Achievement Committee panel. The district posted the recording. No vote is on either page.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published

People gathered on the lawn at Downtown Cary Park

File photo: DowntownCaryPark (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • The Wake County Board of Education's Student Achievement Committee met Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. The district posted a recording of that meeting titled "2026-10-27 Student Achievement Committee" on the WakeCountySchools YouTube channel.Confirmed by Wake County Public School System YouTube recording
  • An agenda listing for that 3 p.m. session at Crossroads I includes a staff and student instructional technology panel. It also lists revised North Carolina mathematics standards and September minutes.Confirmed by NC govwatch listing of the Oct. 27, 2026, Student Achievement Committee
  • WUNC, writing Thursday, and WRAL, in a later version of its Tuesday page, both wrote that the board sat with a panel of students and principals to talk about one-to-one devices as the district works on a new laptop-buying plan.Confirmed by WUNC (posted 4:16 p.m. Eastern Oct. 29, 2026); WRAL (posted 8:00 a.m. Eastern Oct. 27, 2026, later updated)
  • Both pages quote a fourth-grader on the panel, Raj Murthy, saying "Technology is turning school into a daycare." WUNC adds that he said kids are not listening to teachers and are getting distracted by their computers. WRAL writes that students said classmates play games and stop paying attention, and that Murthy is at Highcroft Drive Elementary. WUNC does not print that school.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL
  • WUNC wrote that the students have been advocating for less screen time at past board meetings and described eye strain, glitches, weaker handwriting, and distractions. WRAL wrote they are neighbors in Cary who have spoken at two meetings and gathered a petition.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL (each page's own detail)
  • Both pages quote Olds Elementary principal Kristen McCollum saying devices give some children access to the world.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL
  • WUNC quotes Banks Road Elementary principal Sarah Simmons on software that can enlarge text, read it aloud, or read it in Spanish. WRAL did not print that line.Confirmed by WUNC only
  • WRAL named the principals of Highcroft Drive Elementary, Banks Road Elementary, Olds Elementary, Mills Park Middle, and Green Level High, and wrote that Highcroft is piloting one device for every two students this year. WUNC did not name that pilot.Confirmed by WRAL only
  • WRAL quotes Highcroft principal Catherine Shearin saying she is not anti-tech, she is pro-learning, and that a device cannot duplicate a good teacher. That page said her kindergarten through second-grade students hardly use devices except for required mClass checks.Confirmed by WRAL only
  • WUNC wrote that several principals said computers are required for state tests, and quoted board member Wing Ng saying a student who will take a test on a computer needs to know how to use one. WRAL did not print those Ng lines.Confirmed by WUNC only
  • Superintendent Robert Taylor, on both pages, said he does not want an elementary school with no technology or one where technology dominates. The wording is close but not identical.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL
  • WUNC quoted Taylor saying textbook companies are no longer producing paper books because e-books cost them less. WRAL wrote that textbooks are often produced only digitally now to save publishers money.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL (wording split)
  • WUNC attributed to board member Sam Hershey the line that the General Assembly does not currently fund paper textbooks. WRAL, calling him board vice chairman, wrote that he said Tuesday the board could not afford physical textbooks even if they were for sale.Confirmed by WUNC; WRAL (wording split)
  • WUNC wrote that the new "sustainable instructional device strategy" might include buying fewer devices to save money, and quoted Ng saying sustainable means the district can actually afford it. WUNC also wrote the board might consider buying half as many Chromebooks in lower grades in later years, with classes taking turns. That is not the same fact as WRAL's Highcroft pilot.Confirmed by WUNC only
  • WUNC said device buying comes back at the November facilities committee, with staff recommendations in December. WRAL's Tuesday page said a new approach, shaped by the board, is planned by December. That WRAL page did not print a November committee date.Confirmed by WUNC; comparison with WRAL
  • Neither WUNC nor WRAL wrote that the committee took a vote Tuesday.Confirmed by Comparison of WUNC and WRAL

Still unknown

  • Whether staff will recommend fewer devices, shared devices, or keeping one device per student
  • What the November facilities committee will actually be asked to do
  • How the Highcroft Drive Elementary pilot is going. That detail is only on WRAL

What this means for you

Schools
No source we read said Tuesday's committee changed how many devices any school will get. WUNC points to a November facilities discussion and December staff recommendations. WRAL's Tuesday page points to December.

Instructions from Wake County Public School System YouTube recording; wcpss.net school board page

This site is not the Wake County Public School System. For the Tuesday recording, use the district's YouTube channel. Board questions listed on wcpss.net go through the Crossroads I office in Cary. This is not an emergency notice. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Cary, Wake's school board sat with students and principals Tuesday to talk through what happens if the district buys fewer classroom computers.

WUNC, writing Thursday, and WRAL, in a later version of its Tuesday page, both covered that Student Achievement Committee panel. Staff posted a recording of the Oct. 27, 2026, meeting on the district YouTube channel.

WUNC and WRAL each quote a fourth-grader on the panel, Raj Murthy, saying technology is turning school into a daycare. WUNC adds that he said kids are not listening to teachers and are getting distracted by their computers. WRAL writes that students said classmates play games and stop paying attention, and that Murthy attends Highcroft Drive Elementary. WUNC leaves that campus off the page.

The students have been asking for less screen time. WRAL wrote they are neighbors in Cary who have spoken at two board meetings and gathered a petition. WUNC said they have been advocating at past meetings and described eye strain, glitches, weaker handwriting, and distractions.

Principals on the same panel warned that cutting devices has limits. Each outlet quotes Olds Elementary principal Kristen McCollum saying devices give some children access to the world.

WUNC quotes Banks Road Elementary principal Sarah Simmons on software that can enlarge text, read it aloud, or read it in Spanish. That sentence is absent from WRAL. WRAL listed the principals of Highcroft Drive, Banks Road, Olds, Mills Park Middle, and Green Level High, and wrote that Highcroft is piloting one device for every two students this year. WUNC skipped that pilot.

WRAL quotes Highcroft principal Catherine Shearin saying she is not anti-tech, she is pro-learning, and that a device cannot duplicate a good teacher. That page said her kindergarten through second-grade students hardly use devices except for required mClass checks.

WUNC reported that several principals said computers are required for state tests, and quoted board member Wing Ng saying a student who will take a test on a computer needs to know how to use one.

Superintendent Robert Taylor, on both pages, said he does not want an elementary school with no technology or one where technology dominates. The wording is close but not identical.

WUNC quoted him saying textbook companies are no longer producing paper books because e-books cost them less. WRAL wrote that textbooks are often produced only digitally now to save publishers money, and that board vice chairman Sam Hershey said Tuesday the board could not afford physical textbooks even if they were for sale. WUNC attributed a different Hershey line: the General Assembly does not currently fund paper textbooks.

WUNC added that the board might consider buying half as many Chromebooks in lower grades in later years, with classes taking turns. That option is not WRAL's Highcroft pilot.

WUNC said device buying comes back at the November facilities committee, with staff recommendations in December. WRAL's Tuesday page said a new approach, shaped by the board, is planned by December. It left a November committee date off that page.

No source we read said the committee took a vote Tuesday.

Triangle Local is not WCPSS. For the recording, use the district video page. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No district, WUNC, or WRAL photos are used here.

Why it matters

Wake families are waiting on a device plan. Readers need Tuesday's public panel, the split between the two write-ups, and that no vote is on either page.

Updates

  1. Oct 29, 2026, 6:12 PM

    WUNC and WRAL independently covered Tuesday's Student Achievement Committee panel on classroom devices. The district posted the recording. Neither page reports a vote.

Sources

  1. 2026-10-27 Student Achievement Committee (WakeCountySchools YouTube recording: official video titled for the Oct. 27, 2026, Student Achievement Committee. This file uses the posting to confirm the meeting. Quoted lines below come from WUNC and WRAL, not from a transcript we made of the video. Text-only; no video stills used.)

    Official sourcePublished by Wake County Public School System · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 6:08 PM

  2. School board page (Wake County Public School System: Crossroads I, 5625 Dillard Drive, Cary; watch meetings on the district YouTube channel; explore board meeting materials. The live calendar fetched Thursday evening listed later October and November dates, not the Oct. 27 committee.)

    Official sourcePublished by Wake County Public School System · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 6:08 PM

  3. Student Achievement Committee Meeting, Oct. 27, 2026, 3:00 p.m. (NC govwatch agenda listing: Crossroads I - Board Conference Room; staff and student instructional technology panel; North Carolina mathematics new standards (2026); minutes of the Sept. 22, 2026, meeting. No item-level packet was on the page we read.)

    Official sourcePublished by NC govwatch (WCPSS agenda listing) · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 6:08 PM

  4. Wake County school board, principals discuss limitations on reducing tech in schools (WUNC, Liz Schlemmer, posted Oct. 29, 2026, 4:16 p.m. EDT: board met with students and principals this week on 1-to-1 devices; new laptop-buying strategy; students advocating less screen time; Raj Murthy, fourth grader, daycare quote and distraction line; November facilities committee; December recommendations; Wing Ng on affordable and on computer testing; pandemic relief funds dried up; Sarah Simmons, Banks Road Elementary, accessibility software; Kristen McCollum, Olds Elementary, access to the world; possible half as many Chromebooks in lower grades; Robert Taylor on balance and on e-books; Sam Hershey on General Assembly textbook funding. YouTube screenshot credited Wake County Public Schools. Text-only; no WUNC or district photos used.)

    Published by WUNC · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 6:08 PM

  5. Screen time in schools: Wake students, principals disagree on how to change approach (WRAL, Emily Walkenhorst, posted Oct. 27, 2026, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, later updated: Tuesday panel; students holding to less laptop use; principals on fluency; Raj Murthy, fourth-grader at Highcroft Drive Elementary, daycare quote; Cary neighbors and petition; principals of Highcroft Drive, Banks Road, Olds, Mills Park Middle, and Green Level High; Highcroft one-device-for-two-students pilot; Catherine Shearin quotes and mClass; Kristen McCollum access-to-the-world quote; Robert Taylor balance quote; digital textbooks; Sam Hershey, vice chairman, could not afford physical textbooks; new approach outlined by December. Text-only; no WRAL photos used.)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 29, 2026, 6:08 PM

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