With the start of the second semester, there are bound to be some changes. One such change that was brought around along with the new year was the loss of Bear River’s Information Technology (I.T.) professional Anthony Barrios, as he accepted another job position at the Office of the Governor for the State of California.
Barrios provided some insight into how he’s faring at his new job.
“This job is exciting,” Barrios said. “There’s an incredible amount to learn with plenty of growth potential.”
Even with accepting this great job opportunity, he still confesses to having a soft place in his heart for Bear River.
“I will admit that I miss working with everyone at Bear River,” said Barrios.
To help relieve Mr. Barrios’ responsibilities, Liam Casavant, the interim I.T., comes on campus two days a week to deal with on-site technical difficulties.
“I love it [at Bear River],” he said. “It’s why I came back. I was here before Tony. Then I moved a bunch, and I decided I wanted to stay up at NU. And, ideally, I would stay here, but I live in Auburn and I have to drive my son up to Deer Creek for school, and I really haven’t figured out a way to stay here.”
Librarian Josie Andrews said that while she is very grateful for the interim support, she will miss Tony.
“I think [Tony’s absence] is going to have a negative impact because Tony was very accommodating and super helpful,” said Librarian Josie Andrews. “Not that the interim people are not, but Tony was really ready to jump in. He really cared about students and wanted to do the best job that he could to help out the school, the students, and the teachers.”
Multiple changes were made to accommodate his absence. Some of Mr. Barrios’ responsibilities, like managing the loaner Chromebooks, fell upon Jessica Dax, Bear River’s Library Assistant. With the onslaught of additional responsibilities “that [aren’t Jessica’s] job to do,” as stated by Mrs. Andrews, the loaner Chromebook policy was drastically changed.
“We might not have enough for the kids that actually need it when their Chromebooks go into repair because there is a limited amount,” Ms. Dax said.
“We’re just trying to wean the students off [the Chromebooks],” said Mrs. Andrews. “Nevada Union actually stopped loaning out Chromebooks after the first year that we got them and we’ve continued to do it. But I think we’re just not going to lend them out anymore … It’s not like a punishment, I don’t want students to think that we’re trying to punish them for not having their Chromebooks.”
Students continue to have access to charging stations in the library so many students don’t notice the change in Chromebook policy.
“I would say the rate of people asking about chargers has been around the same as it was before the change in policy,” said Senior Connor Ronka. “I haven’t seen much of an effect on my classes.”
However, Amber Bell, a junior, pointed out both the downfalls and advantages to this change.
“Luckily, so far I don’t think anyone has had too many problems yet,” she said. “But, I think it has happened at kind of a weird middle period for the year, and I suspect it will get harder for some people. I think that in some ways, this is good because it forces some people to take on a responsibility that they wouldn’t have normally. I also think that [it] is unfortunate for people like me who have terrible memories. I can hardly take my Chromebook out of my bag when I get home lest I forget it, and I know that some kids will forget it and that is a huge problem to go about the school day without one. The change isn’t really good or bad objectively, but it’s different and presents new challenges.”
Sophomore Allison Whiting also commented on the different aspects of this change.
“Someone who doesn’t have a charger and needs a Chromebook can’t get one, and then ends up getting detention from some of the teachers,” she said. “But, it also creates responsibility.”
With the district searching for a new I.T., Bell provided some input on what she expects out of the person that accepts the position.
“I hope that the new I.T. is good at what they do and patient enough to deal with a bunch of kids that have no clue what they’re doing,” said Bell.
