Not all Catasauqua High School students are happy with Catasauqua Area School District's newly implemented one-to-one program.

Under the program, which began this fall, each student is assigned a MacBook. The laptop is used in the classroom for assignments, projects and tests. If the student has the device insured, it can be taken home with them.

Students may refuse to accept the laptop. However, if a student refuses the device, he or she must complete assignments and tests in an alternate fashion.

CHS student Shawn Newhart is a rebel of sorts. To date, he is the only student who has refused a MacBook.

Newhart recently emailed The Press to share a number of concerns he has witnessed with the use of the laptops and the program in general.

The major problem, Newhart alleges, involves a slow Internet connection inside the high school building. The slow or infrequent Internet connection has stymied the educational process, he believes.

"It [Internet] is very slow for starters," he said. "In certain locations, students and staff are not capable of connecting to the Internet period, and the Internet has been shut off already for whole school days for maintenance."

District Superintendent Robert Spengler said he has met recently with Wayne Karess, district network manager, to address issues pertaining to the Internet connection. Most issues have been resolved, he said.

"The majority of the slow spots have been addressed with only a few remaining, with plans to address shortly," Spengler said.

He said if the Internet does go down, teachers are equipped with adequate resources to continue lesson plans and instruction.

"Typically, the Internet connection is quite robust and does not experience issues," Spengler added. "However, interruptions are a reality that also occur in the workplace and home."

According to Newhart, cheating among the student population is becoming an issue that is growing. He has seen or heard of students using the laptops to gain or exchange answers.

"These computers have made it very easy for students to send each other work or find it online to copy," he said. "What you have is one student doing the work and then sending their work out to others so they do not have to do it. It also has allowed students to cheat on tests and quizzes taken online."

Spengler said according to the CHS administration team cheating has occurred with technology, however, he said cheating in any fashion is not atypical among students. His primary concern rests with the students using the devices to communicate during class time.

"Our main concern is the utilization of iMessage during class time and the associated lack of attention," he said. "While this may have occurred in the past by verbal communication or passing notes, a new mode of communication exists."

Newhart also said a group of students recently used the laptops to take photos of another student without their consent. The students, he said, edited the photos and sent them out electronically to others.

"The pictures were not very malicious, but something much worse could happen," he said.

Newhart, during previous school board meetings, shared with the board his concerns relating to privacy. He questioned board members and the administration on what safety measures are being used to ensure student information is not accessed by outside sources.

"The school district does not have the ability to do surveillance when the computers are located off school property," Spengler said. "If there is use in violation of the Acceptable Use Policy, the computers are confiscated for review and disciplinary action may be taken as a result."

While Newhart makes do without a MacBook, the high school and district forges ahead with the use of the laptops.

The program, approved by the board earlier this year, costs roughly $600,000 over a four-year period.

Other area school districts, such as Salisbury, have transitioned to one-to-one instruction.